I have previously addressed in this thread, here. I will copy/paste what I said.
Sigurdsson created 9 of his 10 assists in 2014/15 in open play.
This means he can contribute in open play. Why did he then only register 5 last season?
Swansea's goal scorers last season
Llorente (ST), Fer (CM), Mawson (CB), Routledge (RW), Olsson (LB)
6 of Llorente's 15 goals were from set pieces. 8 headers.
3 of Fer's 6 goals were from set pieces.
4 of Mawson's 4 goals were from set pieces.
How is Sigurdsson going to get assists in open play, when none of his team mates are good in open play?
Gylfi's open play ability is on par or better than any other Playmaker in the league. He can shoot, cross, pass & through ball on both feet equally from anywhere on the pitch.
There is nobody, better than him on both feet. You wont see anybody shoot, score, cross, assist, through ball or back hell like him on both feet from anywhere on the pitch. His lack of speed and poor last season due to being played out of position & averaging only 27 passes per match is what made his open stats so poor compared to past seasons.
Between January 2015 & May 2016, Gylfi only officially registered 4 assists in 55 appearances, 7%.
Before and after that dry-spell, Sigurdsson registered 27 assists in 69 appearances, 37.5%
Sigurdsson shouldn't only be 4th place in the assist table over the past 3 seasons, 26 assists in 104 appearances is 24.5%
If he kept up his 37.5% assist ratio, then he would have 39 assists in 104 appearances according to the projected statistics.
He is 2nd in the goals/assists table, but should be leading it by a lot.
He's assisting with awful players compared to the top 7, and still 4th in the table. But it's not like he cant score goals in open play either.
Both feet, volleys, headers, inside or outside the box, either side of the pitch, low driven punts or curlers with finesse, free-kicks, penalties.. He offers everything in regards to scoring goals.
Everton is about to sign the most both footed shooter, passer & crosser in the league.
Exactly what I mean.
You don't just suddenly go from 4 assists in 58 apps to 6 assists in 7 apps without having been improperly utilized.
From 7% assist ratio at Spurs to 26% at Swansea.
And then like I mentioned earlier, his 26% is actually dragged down from his 6 assists in 55 apps dry-spell, 11%.
Remove that from his 124 apps & 32 assists and you'll get 26 assists in 69 apps. 37.5%
It might seem like cherry picking, but when you're playing for Swansea and you lose your best team mate Wilfried Bony.. It's going to take awhile to adjust, adapt or find a new striker. It took 1½ seasons for Swansea to sign Llorente.
Regarding Ted Knutson, I simply sent him an email, sent him a few tweet and even attempted to contact him on Skype regarding his poor analysis of Sigurdsson. You simply cannot brand a player ''poor in open play'' based on a single season. I made him aware of this, that is all. ''hounded'' is far from the truth, just like a lot of what you said in that post.
I post on reddit, I do admit that. I have said Sigurdsson is a better goal scorer & assister than Toni Kroos, as the statistics prove. I have not at all used Twitter other than that one attempt to contact the analyst I previously mentioned.
Your portrayal of me and my actions is one of the most disingenuous and absurd things I have come across as a poster on any soccer forum I've visited so far.
Liverpool & Spurs were previously after him, Sigurdsson's a well-known United supporter so maybe he said no to Liverpool because of that? Which could rule out a move to City.
None of the top teams in the PL are after him because they are younger & faster Playmakers that they deem to have a higher ceiling/potential. Either way, statistically & technique wise none of those players can match him, not Eriksen not Ozil not Fabregas not de Bruyne.
Open play, assists, goals.. On either foot you cant name one planet capable of what I've shown you in those video's & with his weaker foot statistics.
Also, he has rejected offers from AC Milan/Inter/Roma/Dortmund. A £50 million offer from China was offered during January and Spurs were reportedly interested in him earlier this summer but chose to go for Barkley instead.
Eriksen never ''ousted'' him because he never played attacking midfielder for Spurs in the first place. Just like he never took free kicks, set pieces, corners or penalties for them. He played out of position, averaged 43 minutes per appearance, and plenty of other reasons why he didn't succeed nearly as well there as he has for Swansea.
Xavi & Iniesta have equal, or better both footed passing ability. Except they're much, much faster players. So they can execute passes faster and dribble past others in tight situations.
They do not possess his crossing ability on either foot, nor do they have his set pieces, free kicks, penalties, or defensive abilities. Which is why they can only play AM/CM and Sigurdsson can play anywhere in midfield or forward.
Whether or not if you choose to prioritize being smaller but superior at passing, or worse at that but superior in every other aspect completely depends on the XI, formation, role & players surrounding you.
I'd choose Sigurdsson over either of them any day of the week, but I'm obviously bias.