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Can Sigurdsson keep starring for Everton

By Matt Townsend

Arsenal's French-born Ivorian midfielder Nicolas Pepe (L) vies with Everton's Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson (R) during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on December 19, 2020. (Photo by Jon Super / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by JON SUPER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal's French-born Ivorian midfielder Nicolas Pepe (L) vies with Everton's Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson (R) during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on December 19, 2020. (Photo by Jon Super / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by JON SUPER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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As Everton prepare for their Carabao Cup match tonight against Manchester United, one player who has excelled in recent games is Gylfi Sigurdsson. Can the Iceland midfielder keep his fine form going?

For a long time I have been a strong critic of the Icelander, along with a lot of Everton supporters, but in the past three matches and especially against Leicester City and Arsenal, he has been outstanding.

Sigurdsson has stepped up for the Toffees in the absence of his Colombian team-mate and provided an impressive work-rate and some important creativity from midfield.

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With James Rodriguez still unfit he will have to continue to perform at least until Rodriguez is able to return. But is this form temporary or has he turned a corner under Carlo Ancelotti?

Sigurdsson has been struggling to recapture anything like the sort of form he showed sporadically after Everton made him their still record signing when paying £45 million to purchase him from Swansea City in 2017.

The tall, languid player was considered technically sound, an excellent passer of the ball and with the ability to produce excellent quality from set-piece situations. His defensive work wasn’t key, but he was viewed as a solid team player.

Too often though in recent seasons he has been laboured and hugely inconsistent, apparently lacking the energy and determination to contribute effectively under successive managers.

Last season he was so poor that if he had left last summer, I don’t think any Blues fans would have been bothered, especially with the arrival of Colombian superstar Rodriguez.

But as his playing history and the past few weeks have underlined, Everton will probably have to get used to Rodriguez spending quite a lot of time out of the team with injury.

So someone has to step up and fill in when he is unavailable. Sigurdsson wouldn’t have been my choice to do this but so far he has at least to some extent, done so very well.

The key question for Sigurdsson is will he continue to perform with the rigor and quality he has shown recently. If he can he will give his manager a new selection dilemma and also go a long way to cementing his future at Goodison Park.