The 22-year-old is expected to join the Reds from German outfit Hoffenheim this summer, thus completing a remarkable journey from Iceland to the top of English football

GYLFI SIGURDSSON | Midfielder





CAREER STATS Age 22 Appearances 130 Goals 44 Assists 19

PLAYER FILE Current club Hoffenheim Price tag £7m

GYLFI PLEASURE

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By David Lynch Should Gylfi Sigurdsson complete his expected move to Liverpool in the coming days, it will mark the next stop in a career path that has been travelled at breakneck speed.From his hometown club to the Championship, via an ill-fated move to Germany and a fruitful return to British shores, Sigurdsson has rarely failed to fulfil his billing as one of Europe’s top young talents.However, to move with such alacrity takes more than ability; the deeper you look into the 22-year-old’s story, the clearer the narrative becomes. Sigurdsson isn’t just a player with two fine feet, an eye for a pass and a ruthless streak in front of goal – he is driven by an almost maniacal ambition to succeed.“He played for a club called FH, one of the biggest clubs in the country, when he was a kid but at 14 he left for Breidablik because their pitches weren’t good enough," said Tomas Thordarson of Morgunbladit, a journalist who has followed the Iceland midfielder's ascent closely.“They just had an artificial pitch that wasn’t heated so it was always snowed in and he didn’t feel he’d progress as a footballer there. He was always thinking like this. He always set his mind on being a professional footballer, from a very young age.“He was built for football - he had extra training sessions with his brother. He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke - he only wants to be the best football player that he can be.”That move was not be his last as a teenager. Soon Reading’s impressive scouting network came calling, and if Arsenal and Preston North End - with whom Sigurdsson had trials - weren’t willing to take a gamble, the Berkshire side were.After two short loan spells in the lower leagues, his first-team breakthrough came under then-Royals manager Brendan Rodgers. And it did not take long for Sigurdsson to evidence his knack for scoring from midfield.He notched an incredible 21 goals and nine assists in 44 appearances during his first full season at the club, ensuring his talents no longer remained a secret. When German outfit Hoffenheim offered £6.5 million surpassing Reading’s record for a transfer fee received, the Championship outfit had little choice but to buckle.But, as Thordarson explained, following a fine start under famously progressive coach Ralf Rangnick, his eventual successor - after Marco Pezzaiuoli's disastrous stint as caretaker - had no time for Sigurdsson, or much success.He explained: “There was no particular reason why he was dropped. The coach that took over - Holger Stanislawski - as was proven in the league - didn’t know what he was doing.“Gylfi started not playing then he’d come into the team and start three games in a row then he was not even in the squad. There was no particular reason other than being slightly injured at the start and he didn’t seem to have trust from the coach. Gylfi wanted to get away straight off.”That move was to prove but a small stumbling block for Sigurdsson and, upon realising that he had fallen out of favour during his second season, he immediately sought a loan move.Rodgers, another remarkably ambitious man to whom Sigurdsson’s fate is seemingly tied, spotted the opportunity and immediately brought him in as part of his Swansea revolution. It is this sort of relationship that Thordarson revealed the Iceland international thrives on.He continued: “He will be a success anywhere he plays just as long as he has trust from the coach. He has endless ability to see the game and see the next pass before he even gets the ball, he’s not the fastest man on the pitch but he runs and runs.“He runs over 10 kilometres a game and his ability to shoot and pass is second to none. It doesn’t matter where he plays, as long as he plays he’ll be a success.”Seven goals and three assists in 18 Premier League games are testament to his success under Rodgers and it now looks as though the pair are to be reunited on a permanent basis at Anfield.However, make no mistake, should the Reds fail to match Sigurdsson’s appetite for success then they, like Swansea - who believed they had a permanent deal wrapped up for him before the Merseyside outfit’s advance - could find themselves on the wrong side of this ambition.Thordarson said: “Liverpool isn’t the biggest club in the world and hasn’t been for some time, even though it’s a big name. Of course if they aren’t playing in the Champions League when he has been there a couple of years and bigger clubs want him then he would want to speak to them.”So, simply by acquiring Sigurdsson, Liverpool are getting no guarantees from a player Thordarson believes can “without question” become Steven Gerrard’s heir. They must provide evidence that they can match his ambitions, something they have failed to do for their captain during a career which looks set to end without a league title.Should they repeat that mistake again then Sigurdsson has no ties to the club or the city which would make him stay. Liverpool could become just another footnote in his remarkable rise.