Ross Barkley is the key to Southampton signing Gylfi Sigurdsson
By Chris Hughes
The Saints’ chase of Icelandic Sigurdsson will seemingly be decided by the fate of Everton’s Ross Barkley.
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been one of the Premier League’s elite playmakers in recent seasons, and this season he was one of only two players to score ten goals and set up a further ten as well. The other was £55 million-rated Alexis Sanchez.
With that in mind the Icelandic international has been linked with a move away from Swansea City, but not to one of England’s top teams, partially due to his lukewarm spell at Tottenham Hotspur.
The attacking midfielder was regularly deployed in an unnatural position down the left and also struggled as the ‘small fish in a big pond’.
This time around it therefore seems that Everton and Southampton lead the race to sign the 27-year-old, but the former already possess a highly-rated playmaker of their own.
The only issue is, is that Ross Barkley could be on his way out of the Merseyside club. We saw whilst he managed the Saints that Ronald Koeman can be ruthless with players, for instance when Sadio Mane was dropped for being late.
Barkley’s deadline to sign a new contract or be sold has since passed, leaving the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham swarming around him like sharks.
Everton have shown with their £20+ million signings of Yannick Bolasie and Morgan Schneiderlin that can splash the cash when need be, and having finished seventh they will play in the Europa league next year.
With that in mind Southampton can’t really go head-to-head with Everton in the transfer market anymore, as the latter would likely win in a one-on-one tug of war.
But if Ross Barkley does commit his future to the Toffees than Koeman is unlikely to search for another playmaker for the no. 10 role, with the England international likely putting pen-to-paper on a lucrative contract that demands playing time.
Sigurdsson could be available for around £15-20 million if reports last month are to be believed, something that would break the Saints’ transfer record but would surely be worth the outlay.
His ability to unlock defences with his passing alongside his dead-ball technique make his the perfect piece for the Southampton puzzle, with Dusan Tadic struggling at times this season.
However if Barkley sees his future elsewhere the Icelandic man could surely be switching south Wales for the blue side of Merseyside.