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One to Watch – Gylfi Sigurdsson

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Name: Gylfi Sigurdsson

Date of Birth: 9/9/1989

Nationality: Iceland

Former Clubs: Reading, Shrewsbury Town, Crewe Alexandra, 1899 Hoffenheim, Tottenham

League Appearances (Goals): 192 (50)

International Appearances (Goals): 28 (9)

Stat of the Day Gylfi Sigurdsson has scored or assisted 12 of Swansea`s 24 Premier League goals this season

Player Profile: Being labelled the Icelandic David Beckham would be a pretty tough comparison to live up to; however, having a former Miss Iceland on your arm, the biggest brands pursuing you and being pretty good at free-kicks has crafted Gylfi Sigurdsson into Iceland`s version of Britain`s most famous footballer. While his face is splattered across billboards in his home nation, the 25-year-old has found comfort in the South of Wales, bringing intelligence and nous to his Swansea side, the club where a 6-month-loan spell brought him to the fore of English football in 2012. Two spells at Swansea sandwiched a limited spell at Spurs for two years, but Sigurdsson`s best football has been played at the Liberty Stadium where his qualities have been encouraged to thrive.

From Reading to Hoffenheim and then to Swansea on loan in 2012, The Ice Man was influential wherever he went early on in his career, scoring goals and scooping individual awards for his understated excellence. A sabbatical at Tottenham stalled the attacking midfielder`s escalating progress; being played out of position on the wing, only completing 90 minutes on 6 occasions and Gareth Bale were just a few reasons Sigurdsson`s time at White Hart Lane failed to take off, but he has found home back in Wales where his impressive form this season has seen Swansea continue their notable Premier League displays. Sigurdsson`s versatility, movement off the ball and creativity is key to the way Garry Monk`s side play; Liverpool confined the midfielder`s role to a player on the periphery on Monday night and QPR will have to do the same to avoid another Sigurdsson master class.

Playing Career

Despite being born in Iceland, Gylfi Sigurdsson had trials at Preston and Arsenal at the age of 16, before he eventually signed for Reading in 2005. He spent three years playing for the youth and reserve teams before making his first team debut in a League Cup match against Luton Town. Before becoming a familiar face in the Reading side he spent time on loan at Shrewsbury Town and Crewe Alexandra in order to gain first team experience. He scored on his debut for Shrewsbury in 2008 ending up with one goal in six appearances during his short stay at New Meadow. His time at Crewe was more profitable as he made 15 league appearances, scoring three goals.

The 2009/2010 season was Sigurdsson`s first successful season at Reading where he became a huge contributor to his side`s impressive FA Cup run and 9th placed league finish. He finished the season with a fruitful 21 goals in 44 matches in all competitions, which prompted interest from numerous European clubs and in September 2010 German side Hoffenheim signed the midfielder for a reported £6 million.

Sigurdsson enjoyed a successful first season in Germany where he finished the season with 10 goals and 2 assists, despite only starting 13 matches. Unfortunately during the first half of the 2011/2012 season he fell down the pecking order and in January 2012 was reunited with former manager Brendan Rodgers at Swansea on a loan deal until the end of the season. 7 goals in 17 appearances saw Tottenham take the chance to extend Sigurdsson`s stay in England as they signed him for a fee of £8.8 million over the summer.

The Icelandic international spent two years at White Hart Lane but made a sporadic 58 appearances, most of them mainly as a substitute. In July 2014, amid interest from Liverpool, Sigurdsson returned to Swansea as part of a deal that saw Ben Davies and Michel Vorm move in the opposite direction. He already has four goals in 18 appearances back at the Liberty Stadium.

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