Gylfi Sigurdsson embodies Everton’s creative slump

 Gylfi Sigurdsson was bought to Everton to be the Science master in the School of Science.

In his first season at Everton, Gylfi Sigurdsson, who cost 45 million pounds from Swansea seemed headed in right direction. He scored 13 goals, had 6 assists and created 11 big chances. He also put himself about in midfield as well – winning 65 per cent of his tackles and making 28 interceptions.

Those 13 goals made him co-leading scorer along with another summer buy, Richarlison, who also scored 13 as Everton finished eighth with 54 points, three points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers, who earned the last European place.

So as the 2019-20 season began, Everton and then manager Marco Silva were optimistic. That didn’t last and after a 5-2 defeat by hated rivals Liverpool saw Everton slip into the bottom three with only 14 points from 15 games. Sigurdsson had only one goal. Silva was fired with Duncan Ferguson taking over as a caretaker before Carlo Ancelotti took over.

Under Ancelotti, the Toffees started to move up the table and by March 9 when the season was postponed due to COVID-19, Everton had moved up to 12th place with 37 points from 29 games. Sigurdsson hadn’t scored another goal and that could have been a result of Ancelotti playing the Iceland international in a different role in midfield. In Silva’s 4-2-3-1 Sigurdsson played as No. 10 with a primary job of scoring and setting up goals. Ancelotti’s 4-4-2, he played deeper and had more responsibilities.

When football restarted, the Toffees did well picking up seven from the first nine points available and Sigurdsson scored his second goal of the season with a penalty against Leicester in a 2-1 victory.

After that, the Blues slumped losing two and drawing two while only scoring two goals. The knives were out quickly for the midfield and Sigurdsson, especially.

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In a 1-0 loss against Spurs, Sigurdsson looked bad in a midfield that was mediocre at best.

Gary Neville branded Sigurdsson ‘poor’ whilst noting that the vision of him pulling out of a challenge stuck with him all night and ‘bugged’ him, seemingly finding nothing redeemable about Sigurdsson’s performance.

"He’s been poor, Sigurdsson, he really has. I can’t get that challenge in the first half out of my head, where he backed out of it. It’s just stuck with me all night, it’s bugged me."

The Iceland international was substituted at around the 70th-minute mark and he didn’t start the next match a 1-1 draw with Southampton but did come on as a substitute just before half-time. He played the entire game in a dreary 3-0 defeat to Wolves in a performance that had little to celebrate for Evertonians.

Gylfi Sigurdsson didn’t start Toffees’ last outing a 1-1 draw against relegation-battler Aston Villa. He did come on with about 15 minutes left and was on the pitch when Theo Walcott scored an injury time equaliser.

Sigurdsson has had the worst season of his career statistic-wise (2 goals, 2 assists.) And despite his skill, he doesn’t really seem to fit in Ancelotti’s system  At 30 and on a hefty 100,000 pounds a week, Sigurdsson’s days in a Royal Blue Jersey may well be numbered. With Norwich being relegated, Everton could well go after Todd Cantwell and let Sigurdsson go.

Is this the end of the road for Gylfi Sigurdsson at Goodison Park?