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At the beginning of October, when Everton's squad disbanded for the second, decisive international break of the season, Gylfi Sigurdsson was a driving force behind Iceland's stunning 3-0 away win in Turkey.



Three days later, he scored the crucial opening goal against Kosovo as the Vikings booked their place at next year's World Cup in Russia. It would be his last victory for almost a month.



By the time Everton's club-record signing did taste victory again, the man who brought him to Goodison had been removed from his position.

Sigurdsson had been almost ever-present in Ronald Koeman's starting XI after arriving from Swansea, but after the embarrassing home defeat to Arsenal, it was time for a fresh start.



In many ways, the £45million pound man needed a clean slate too.

(Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)





Despite being a hero in his home country - and, indeed, on the south coast of Wales - Sigurdsson had been misunderstood at Goodison Park since arriving for a hefty price tag that had, quite visibly, become an albatross around his neck.



As football is increasingly packaged into neat viral videos, Twitter gifs and YouTube compilations, Sigurdsson's reputation as a statistically flawless playmaker preceded him.

This was meant to be a man busy making assists, stopping only to sweep gorgeous free-kicks into various goals around the country and indeed, Europe. The full debut at Hadjuk Split confirmed, pretty quickly, the idea that Everton had captured a player who would, quite regularly, score goals that made news stations around the globe.



And then there was silence.



After the game in Croatia, Sigurdsson was almost an innocent bystander to the maulings by Chelsea, Tottenham, Atalanta and Manchester United. He was by no means the worst player, and in no way directly responsible for any of the defeats. But a nagging question started to cloud the hype surrounding his signing: what does Gylfi actually do?



There were assists in the dismal European performances against Limassol and Lyon at Goodison as the Koeman era began to rapidly lose altitude, but by the time the Dutchman had crashed into the Goodison turf against Arsenal in October, it remained to be seen whether the Iceman could emerge from the wreckage with his reputation intact.



Was this Tottenham all over again?



Sigurdsson was just 21 when Tottenham forked out the then-sizeable £7million to secure his signature in 2012, and despite a respectable thirteen goals across two seasons at the club, he failed to fit inside the Spurs jigsaw.

Mauricio Pochettino was the man who green-lighted his move back to Swansea in his first pre-season with the club, but 18 months later, as his Spurs side blossomed gloriously, he seemed to have reservations about the decision.



"I think after he moved to Swansea and we saw his development at Swansea, he was a perfect player for us," the Argentine said.



"But it was a club decision and his decision to move to Swansea and find another way. Every time we meet him and see him, he shows his quality- not only as a player but like a man. All the people here talk very highly about him. It's a shame but sometimes in football you never know what will happen."



As Sigurdsson aimlessly jerked his way around the Goodison turf under Koeman, with an expectant crowd muttering their discontent at every set-piece not robotically landed on the head of a blue shirt, it seemed that the Tottenham curse had returned to haunt him at Goodison. When representing Iceland he seemed to rebel, unhindered by a lack of pressure and driven on by the faith of a nation.



But you never know what will happen, as Pochettino said, and the battling draw at Crystal Palace a month ago was to be a turning point in Sigurdsson's Everton tenure as he notched an opportunistic assist for Oumar Niasse that accompanied a man-of-the-match display.





A stunning goal in the chastening defeat to Southampton followed before he whipped in the corner for Ashley Williams' header that put the gloss on the win over West Ham.

He marked Sam Allardyce's first game in charge with a classy finish against Huddersfield and has became a crucial cog in the Alladycian machine following the important results at both Anfield and St. James' Park respectively.



But the goals and assists are not a fair reflection of Sigurdsson as a footballer, nor what Evertonians have came to appreciate most about their record signing.



Almost in the Mesut Ozil mould of creativity, Sigurdsson's acute footballing brain has always been the accompanying weapon to his oft-deadly right boot. Not blessed with blustering power or lightning speed, his spell at Swansea was consistently footnoted with moments where he seemed to be a step or two ahead of the defence, occupying the spaces that others didn't even realise were open.



But he also does the dirty work.



Last season Sigurdsson covered more ground that anybody else in the Premier League.

This is no mean feat for a man who was charged with almost single-handedly keeping Swansea in the division, juggling match-winning performances with a tenacity and desire to harry defenders and chase every ball for his struggling side.



These are the attributes that have, in the end, endeared him to the Goodison faithful.

Evertonians will never damn any player for a lack of quality - which Sigurdsson can never be accused of - as long as they give their all for the cause.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

On plenty of occasions in the past month, as Everton have toiled towards some crucial results, Sigurdsson has been seen taking a deep breath out on that whimsical inside-left position he's taken up as he tracks back to support Cuco Martina in his unfamiliar left-back berth.

As Everton have worked hard to become a sound defensive unit under Allardyce, Sigurdsson's unselfish desire to help his team has not gone unnoticed. Suddenly, the question has changed.



What can't Gylfi do?



He has completed ninety minutes in all but two of the eighteen matches he has started for the Blues this season- and left the field with just five minutes remaining in the others - and in all of those games he has been in the upper tiers of the distance covered statistics.

And while his hard work is an added bonus for a price tag that, quite possibly, can never be justified in an inflated market, he still finds the reserves of energy to take part in fast-tempo moves like the one which resulted in Wayne Rooney's decisive goal at Newcastle.



Perhaps, as Sigurdsson prepares to face his old Swansea team-mates for the first time in a Blue shirt tonight, it is time to put away the highlight packages and statistics and appreciate Sigurdsson as one of the last genuine footballers in an increasingly selfish game.

For all his moments of pinch-yourself brilliance, like that goal against Split or beautifully curving delivery for Ashley Williams' equaliser against Lyon, the Ice-man is endearing himself to the Goodison faithful as a player who, for all his qualities that he will undoubtedly show - even if it is in fits and bursts, like Batman emerging from the shadows when he is needed most- is willing to put the team before his own personal gains.