"Everyone was screaming at their TV seeing Big Sam putting Gylfi out on the left wing" - the view from Iceland on Sigurdsson's revival at #efc & where he goes from here

By @pbsportswriter

JUST over a year ago, Gylfi Sigurdsson cut a dejected figure as he stood in the mixed zone at Brighton talking to the media.

Everton had just scraped a 1-1 draw thanks only to a late Wayne Rooney penalty in a season already looking like a write-off.

Sigurdsson played the full 90 minutes that day but had had little impact, and his £45m price tag seemed to weigh heavily around his shoulders.

He admitted he had not been good enough that day or in general since his move from Swansea, and had yet to score or assist in the league for his new club.

What a difference a year makes.

After going on to manage just 4 goals in 29 league games last season, Sigurdsson already has six in 13 this time around.

He’s had more shots than any other Everton player this season, has delivered more through balls than all but two players across the whole division, and despite playing as a No 10, only three other Premier League players have delivered more crosses.

Sigurdsson is thriving under Marco Silva, who has restored him to his favourite position, and he looks like he’s enjoying himself again.

For Hjortur Hjartarson, who followed Iceland every step of the way at Euro 2016 for Channel 2 Sport and has always kept an eye on his nation’s best player, the transformation comes as no surprise.

Hjartarson said: “We were never worried. Gylfi’s game didn´t drop at all with the national team while he was still settling in at Everton. It makes us very happy that Gylfi is perhaps only now showing what he can do for Everton under new management. It makes us feel immensely proud. But Iceland fans are not surprised. They knew he would.”

For Hjartarson there were two reasons why Sigurdsson struggled to deliver last season for Everton – the first being how previous coaches used him. And the second being Wayne Rooney.

He said: “I guess every Icelandic fan was screaming at their television seeing Big Sam putting Gylfi out on the left wing. His best position is 10 and to us it is obvious.

“Honestly one would think that was obvious to everyone else as well. I can understand that Rooney is someone you want to play if he is in your squad.

“But when you have quality like Gylfi you either use him in number 10 or not at all. Even if it means pushing Rooney up to the front or on the bench.”

Being given the chance to direct traffic more centrally without Rooney getting in his way certainly seems to have helped, but even this season it has not been all plain sailing for Sigurdsson.

After Everton drew 1-1 at home to Huddersfield in September, Sky ran a piece asking why he was still struggling at the club.

It was pointed out that in 76 minutes in that game, Sigurdsson hadn't dribbled past a defender, touched the ball in the box, or recorded a shot at goal. He had also only completed 10 passes in the whole match - with just one to his striker, Cenk Tosun. Ademola Lookman completed more as a substitute.

He has six goals and one assist in the nine league games he has played since then, most of which have been played with Richarlison replacing Tosun at centre forward, which has clearly helped.

It is beginning to work for Sigurdsson, and Everton are reaping the benefits. Since the start of last season, no other Everton player has scored more goals in all competitions. But Hjartarson believes there is even more to come.

He said: “I think Gylfi can better, absolutely. He can dominate midfield in any game, score goals and provide chances. Some mention that his recent goals have come against teams who are not in the "top six" but his scoring record at Old Trafford shows that he is capable of scoring against those teams as well.

“Gylfi is always Iceland’s golden boy and we are proud of him. Hopefully it will turn out to be a good thing for the national team as well.”

ends

Usmanov and Everton - could it happen?

By @pbsportswriter

ALISHER Usmanov’s yacht, Dilbar, stopped on the Turkish coast this week to take on fuel. Four hundred thousand litres of the stuff, according to local media.

But it was his close friend and business associate Farhad Moshiri’s decision to pull the trigger on an agreement to increase his shareholding in Everton that added fuel to a few fires.

For some, this was another indication that Moshiri is paving the way for Usmanov, who only recently sold up at Arsenal remember, to join him at Goodison Park.

For others, who point to the fact a company the two men run sponsors Everton’s training ground, it just confirmed their long-held belief that Usmanov is already bankrolling Moshiri’s investment.

Those who speak publicly for both men (or at least brief journalists on their behalf), deny both things, and always have.

I should know. I’ve been asking them about it myself ever since Moshiri first bought his stake in Everton.

And while their briefings on other things, including Arsenal, have changed over time, on these two theories regarding Everton, the response has always been categoric.

People will believe what they want to, and of course this does not prove either that Usmanov is not already heavily involved at Everton behind the scenes, or that he wants to become more involved.

But nevertheless it is worth noting what the people he pays to speak on his behalf have been saying over the last few months.

In July (when the response to rumours of Usmanov selling his Arsenal shares was “no comment”): “He has nothing to do with Everton, or any plans to buy into the club.”

In August (after he sold up at Arsenal): “Everton is not on the cards and will not be.  It is Mr Moshiri’s and will remain that way.”

At around the same time, it was also insisted that it was “extremely unlikely” Usmanov would look to buy shares in another Premier League club, and that “continental Europe would be a better bet.”

In September (in denying any involvement by Usmanov in Moshiri’s move to become majority shareholder): “It remains the case that Everton is Farhad Moshiri’s project.”

At no point has Usmanov ever contradicted any of this himself, or said that he wants to buy shares in Everton.

So there is plenty of evidence from official sources, both on and off the record, that he is neither the current money man behind Everton, nor wants to be.

And absolutely no hard evidence beyond conjecture to the contrary.

His recent business decisions do not suggest a man eager to invest his money in this country either.

In December he told Reuters in a telephone interview that he was ready to invest “as much as I can” in Uzbekistan, the land of his birth.

Usmanov said: “I am ready to help (Uzbekistan) in any way possible and I am already helping. My role today is advice, consulting, and charitable projects.

Asked how much he was willing to invest in Uzbekistan, he said: “As much as I can.”

He has since financed a series of projects in the country, including an investment in Tashkent football club Pakhtakor, who are planning to build a new stadium.

And according to local sources, his lawyers are also currently in Spain discussing a possible investment in Real Murcia, whose president Victor Galvez recently revealed ambitious plans to build a new stadium in a huge Sporting City infrastructure project.

There are those who believe that Usmanov is simply moving his money out of this country due to current tensions between Russia and the UK.

And it is a fact that his USM Holdings firm announced recently that it’s owners were transferring core assets to Russia-based USM Holding Company LLC, which was registered this year.

But it won’t stop tongues wagging. Even before Panorama made a similar allegation, there were plenty of journalists who firmly believe Usmanov is the real power behind the throne at Everton.

That is despite the Premier League signing off on Moshiri’s initial investment after demanding full disclosure of any and all beneficial parties in the ownership chain.

If he is more involved than has so far been made public, he has no reason to hide it any longer. As far as the Premier League are concerned, there is nothing to stop him from openly buying shares or investing in Everton now he is no longer at Arsenal.

So if that is the plan, the question is, why wait? Usmanov has the wealth needed to buy the club, and/or the means to fund a new stadium, should he wish to.

Yet he is investing in projects abroad rather than in the UK, and in his recent Bloomberg interview he name checked several other big European clubs, including AC Milan, Roma and Bayern Munich.

He even added: “Should there be a proposal or a possibility to invest in them with good potential returns, I would consider the deal.”

In the same interview, Usmanov insisted he “doesn’t exclude” a more significant investment in Everton, and that if Moshiri needs his support he is “happy to help.”

But this was quickly played down by Everton deputy chairman Keith Harris, who said: “Support can come in many ways, not just financial. It could also mean through advice or moral support.”

Being “happy to help” does not suggest a significant, transformative investment to me. Usmanov wants back into football, that is clear, but after years of frustration at Arsenal, he wants to be the main mover at a big club with investment potential, not the junior partner to his former accountant. He wants to be seen, not hide away.

Could one of his companies do another deal to sponsor Everton, or become involved in stadium financing? Certainly.

Beyond that it remains unlikely he would want to become heavily invested. And as for the idea that he is already the real owner of Everton, well Moshiri himself knocked that one down. His response to the BBC reporter who asked him that question was: “Are you crazy? Have you seen a psychiatrist?"

end

Chucky Lozano and what the Mexicans think his next move should be #efc #barca

By @pbsportswriter

MINO RAIOLA’s phone is about to start ringing. Mexico are out of the World Cup and Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano is in demand.

Everton are among those who covet him, but Lozano’s father says there has also been contact with Barcelona, and Spanish sources confirm this.

Whoever gets him, and it’s not a two-way fight as there are plenty of other clubs watching him with interest, would appear to be getting a gem.

But what do those in Mexico who have watched him take his every step in football think he should do, and just how good is he?

Alonso Cabral of Televisa Deportes says: “I think he’s perfect for the Premier League because he’s very fast and he doesn’t get frightened by big defenders.

“Big defenders hit him and foul him and he goes back and he tries it again. He doesn’t back down.

“I see him as a little bit like Luis Suarez. He doesn’t have the same goal threat. But he is very persistent.”

High praise, and that persistence has certainly been on show in Russia. Lozano scored what he called “the best goal of my entire life” against Germany and terrorised their ageing back four.

But just as impressive was the way he tracked back to help his full back, made tackles, and tried to block crosses. I don’t think he stopped moving once during the whole match.

South Korea clearly targeted him as the Mexican danger man after that, with full back Lee Yong twice hitting him hard with late fouls in the opening few minutes.

Lozano barely blinked. And while he wasn’t quite as explosive going forward in that game, he was there with a vital block inside his own area when it mattered, after sprinting back to help out.

He showed flashes of brilliance too, beating three men on one powerful run before blazing over the crossbar, and later had a decent shot blocked.

Brazil was always going to be a bigger challenge. But while he failed to help his team find a breakthrough, he was still at the heart of everything, attacking space and taking on defenders.

Twice he found himself in a great position on the overlap only to be ignored by his team-mates, who opted for a wasteful shot from long range.

So he’s shown some talent, and with a goal and assist in four games in Russia to add to 17 goals and 11 assists in the Dutch league for PSV Eindhoven last season, you can see why Barca came calling.

But is he ready for a step up like that, or would he be better suited to a club like Everton, where he would surely get much more playing time?

ESPN reporter Herculez Gomez said: “He's 22. The prime age to make a jump. But Barcelona? It’s a very big jump. You’ve got to play. 

"You’ve got to be somewhere you can actually see yourself playing games. Do you really see that happening at Barca?

“But this is just how it started with Chicharito. Out of nowhere, he was suddenly linked to Man Utd and within days the deal was announced.

“If he was from Brazil or Argentina he would be valued in the £70m bracket.”

If he does leave PSV, and there are those in Holland who swear he has promised them one more year, whoever gets him will be getting a bargain, because he won’t command that sort of fee.

Alan Nunez, director of Vavel Mexico, said: “I think that a move to the Premier League is more likely but he has the level to grow up as a player in a bigger team.

“I think that the speed at which he can conduct the ball and how many one on one opportunities he can capitalize is tremendous.

“I think that because of his nature, counter attacking teams right now would suit him more. But he definitely has the capacity to improve as a player on a positional game style.

“Off the pitch he's really shy. He's always with his family and he's not that into big commercials. It's just now that we have seen some commercials of him with Nike, specially.”

All that would seem to make him a better fit for Everton under Marco Silva, who plays the kind of lightning-quick counter-attacking 4-3-3 system Lozano thrives in, rather than Barcelona.

But whatever he decides, his team-mates are convinced he is ready for the next step in his career, and that it will not change him one little bit.

Mexico midfielder Andres Guardado, who was the revelation for El Tri as a teenager at the 2006 World Cup, said: “He's the same kid I met the first time he came with us.

"It makes me very proud to say he is a kid that is very centred, despite everything he is going through. He is conscious that he has to continue like he has because he's not achieved anything.

"Hopefully he stays like that and the rumours about a possible transfer to a big team become reality. It would be marvellous, he's a great teammate."

ends

Andrei Kanchelskis on Marco Silva, #efc’s new stadium, and the Champions League…

By @pbsportswriter

ANDREI KANCHELSKIS has worn many colours over the years but he is as Blue as they come when it comes to Everton.

In his book “Russian Winters” he writes: “The one difference with Manchester United was that at Everton, even if the team wasn’t winning, the fans would still be very loud and emotional.

 “Whenever I come back to Merseyside I am always amazed how many people want photographs or an autograph. I seem to get a bigger reaction when I go to Liverpool than when I go to Manchester.”

Scoring twice at Anfield to win a Mersey derby can do that for you, Andrei.

Maybe it’s no surprise, then, that he speaks so passionately about his hopes for the future of his old club under new boss Marco Silva. But it’s still refreshing to hear.

Silva has just been handed a gift by the Premier League in the shape of an opening round of fixtures that Ronald Koeman would have killed for.

Kanchelskis is a big fan, and believes that with the right players, the right start, enough patience from the fan base and a little bit of luck, Silva could be about to do something special next season.

He will be expecting a fast start with Everton facing home games against Southampton, Huddersfield and West Ham and away trips to Wolves and Bournemouth to start the campaign.

But Kanchelskis believes even bigger things could be just around the corner with a new stadium on the horizon and Farhad Moshiri pushing for Champions League football.

Kanchelskis told me: “Everton is a good club with great fans. I remember so many good times there. They need to buy some good players this summer and they could play in the Champions League.

“Why not? A full stadium every game will help the players and the atmosphere there is always amazing.

“But it’s normal they are looking to move to a bigger stadium. They need it. To have 55,000 every week would be good for Everton. They are a big club.

“Arsenal and West Ham moved to bigger stadiums. Tottenham are building one too. A lot of teams are making that move.

“I have many great memories of the place but it is a little bit too old now, Goodison. Everton needs a new stadium for the Champions League. That’s where they should be.”

A top four finish was the dream last summer, when Moshiri made a big splash in the transfer market in an effort to break into the big time only to see it all fall horribly, horribly flat.

But Kanchelskis believes things will be different this time around, because the club have learned their lesson, removed those he deems responsible for that failure, and brought in a much better manager.

He said: “Everyone I speak to says he is a great coach – and I speak to a lot of people! Everton fans must give him ten games and see what happens.

“He needs some time because he has a completely different mentality to the last manager.

“I hope he will still be there in five years’ time and that Everton will be in their new stadium and competing with the best in Europe on a regular basis.

“What went wrong last year was a mistake of the management, in my opinion. But it will not happen again. They didn’t make good signings. But do not blame the owner.

“He has paid big money for a good coach and they will buy quality players. Hopefully next season they will finish in the top four.”

ends

Why Ross Barkley may need to leave Chelsea to revive his career – but who would take him?

Why Ross Barkley may need to leave Chelsea to revive his career – but who would take him?

By @pbsportswriter

ROSS BARKLEY is wasting his time at Chelsea and the sooner he realises it, the better.

Once touted as the nation’s Next Big Thing, the England outcast can’t even get a game for the fifth-best team in the country, and has totally fallen off the international radar.

Everton fans, and some inside the club too, did not like the way Barkley quit in a £15m January transfer, just months after a £35m deal had been agreed with the west Londoners.

But while his move may have shown some ambition on Barkley’s part, it has turned into an unmitigated disaster.

Yes, he arrived with a hamstring injury. But he has been fit for some time now, and is further away from the first team than he was when he first arrived.

There was even a point at Wembley during Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final win over Southampton when he was the only outfield sub not warming up. It was like he knew there was no chance he’d get on.

Barkley’s one appearance so far in the Premier League for Antonio Conte’s side came in a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth where he lasted 54 minutes before getting the hook.

In that game, he had one shot (off-target), no assists, no big chances created, no crosses and no throughballs.

He’s had just 17 minutes on the pitch during Chelsea’s run to the FA Cup final, getting on with his team already 3-0 up against Newcastle four months ago.

Before that, on his debut, he managed an hour off the bench in their 2-1 EFL Cup defeat at Arsenal, when he took an age to get ready and got a rocket from his new manager.

Now fit again after his injury, he’s been an unused substitute in their last three league games as well as that semi final.

It feels like Barkley is the wrong player at the wrong club, working for the wrong manager.

Did Conte really want him or did Chelsea just see a English player of a good age, going for a good price, who could add to the squad’s not overly large quota of homegrown players.

Conte has often praised Barkley’s commitment but also continues to call him “a young player with great potential”. He’s 24.

Will he play against Liverpool this Sunday? It’s unlikely. Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro are all ahead of him in the wide positions, and Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas ahead of him in midfield.

Barkley has five years left on his contract. If Conte goes in the summer, he could get a chance under a new manager.

But at the same time, Chelsea will go back into the transfer market, and they have Ruben Loftus Cheek to bring back from his loan at Crystal Palace.

Maybe Barkley needs to make a similar move. Loftus-Cheek went out on loan to get more playing time, and ended up in the England squad.

A similar move could reignite Barkley’s career. But how many teams would take him? Newcastle? Watford? West Ham? Chelsea would almost certainly have to subsidise his wages.

He is undoubtedly a huge talent. Even Conte called him a “complete player” when he signed, praising his stamina, technical ability, physical strength, and pace.

But a series of coaches who have worked with Barkley have questioned his decision-making. Will he ever improve on that flaw in his game?

Barkley is clearly a player who needs to be loved. He needs a manager that believes in him and wants to build a team around him.

He had that under Roberto Martinez at Everton, and it’s true that he thrived at times at Goodison Park.

Over the course of the previous two seasons, Dele Alli was the only English midfielder to record more goals and assists (44) than Barkley (29).

And only Mesut Ozil, Christian Eriksen and Kevin De Bruyne matched him in posting at least eight assists in both of those campaigns.

Yet Barkley has still managed a total of only 18 assists in his whole career in the Premier League – Fabregas managed that in one season (2014-15).

Can he still become the player so many Evertonians wanted him to be, and doubtless many Chelsea fans still hope he can be?

Martinez, who once called Barkley “the best English talent I have seen”, was recently asked a similar question about his former player.

He replied: "When I came here in 1995 the first coaches I had wanted to highlight my weaknesses and ask me to become better.

“They weren't too bothered about what I could do really well. So I became an average player.

“In the case of Ross Barkley you shouldn't concentrate on what he can't do. It's what he can bring, and his talent is of the highest level to have a specific role in the team. He needs to find himself again and kick on."

Whether that is at Chelsea remains to be seen.

ends