Marcel Brands says Alex Iwobi will give Gylfi Sigurdsson stiff competition

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gettyimages-1169813047-612x612

Everton completed the £28 million signing of Nigeria international Alex Iwobi on summer transfer deadline day.

The versatile midfielder and forward arrived on Merseyside from North London having been with Arsenal since he was a kid, and he finally made his debut during the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Friday.

Iwobi came close to drawing Everton level after hitting the post some minutes after coming off the bench at Villa Park, and could soon force his way into manager Marco Silva’s starting XI.

The Portuguese surely has some selection headache to deal with already after the 23-year-old put in an impressive shift during his cameo, and the Toffees’ director of football Marcel Brands claims he is set to provide Gylfi Sigurdsson with stiff competition.

“Signing Iwobi was not an easy one, a young boy that played already a lot of games in the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League. But in our eyes, a boy that can play in different positions. Play from the side, also behind the striker,” the Dutchman said on Alan Myers podcast.

“In our team we don’t have much competition with Gylfi. So I think we have managed it now with Alex.

“He’s 23-years-old, already quite experienced and the most important thing: he has goals and assists in his game.”

Everton brought in Sigurdsson from Swansea for a then club-record £45 million in the summer of 2017, and he has since featured in 65 league games for the Goodison Park outfit.

The 29-year-old featured in all 38 league games last season, scoring 13 times, and he’s definitely an important player to Silva’s plans.

While his starting berth isn’t under threat, having a quality player like Iwobi who can keep him on his toes definitely comes handy, and it will surely get the best out of him going forward.

The former Arsenal man often played on the wings while with the Gunners but plays behind the striker for country, and will definitely settle well in the role if deployed there at Goodison.

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