Everton’s $57.8 million club-record move for Swansea City’s Gylfi Sigurdsson is almost complete.
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Toffees boss Ronald Koeman was speaking to the media ahead of the first leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff against Hajduk Split on Thursday, and he confirmed Sigurdsson has undergone a medical at their Finch Farm training ground without any hiccups.
He also stated that Sigurdsson, 27, could make his Everton debut away at Manchester City on Monday (Watch live, 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com) if everything goes to plan.
This news will be a relief for everyone concerned. Everton. Sigurdsson. Swansea. Koeman. Absolutely everyone. This has taken over six weeks to sort out but the end game is near and Swansea will at least get a huge profit as they bought Sigurdsson for Spurs in 2014 for $11.5 million, but did send Ben Davies and Michel Vorm in the opposite direction. Spurs also have a 10 percent sell-on clause in this deal.
The Icelandic playmaker scored nine goals and added 13 assists in the Premier League last season as he kept Swansea in the Premier League but the former Reading, Hoffenheim and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder will now link up with Koeman at Goodison Park.
Sigurdsson, Wayne Rooney, Sandro Ramirez and Davy Klaassen will all be tasked with chipping in with double figures in terms of goals this season to counteract the departure of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United for $96.5 million earlier this summer.
In his prime and ready to be a key piece of Everton’s attacking unit for the foreseeable future, it appears that Sigurdsson has landed in the right place. This is a massive blow for Swansea but for Everton it’s magnificent news.
Sigurdsson will have a large transfer fee hanging over his head and some suggest he prefers being a bigger fish in a smaller pond a la Swansea compared to his time at Tottenham.
We are about to find out if he can handle the pressure of leading a top four charge for the Toffees. Given his incredible assist record last season (only Kevin de Bruyne and Christian Eriksen provided more in the PL) he should slot in just fine at Everton.
“I have seen the doctor and there is no problem,” Koeman said. “Still he needs to sign, but I saw him in the Blue! Normally we will do the business today.”