SWEET HIT AT TOFFEES

EVERTON manager Ronald Koeman has snared the biggest piece in his attacking jigsaw.

Forget recruits Wayne Rooney, Sandro Ramirez and Davy Klaassen, the clubrecord signing of Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson is the one Koeman will cherish the most.

Sigurdsson (pictured), who comes with a $58 million price tag, is a wizard from dead ball situations and has a brilliant eye for a pass.

He has the key to unlock even the tightest of defences. It’s something Everton has lacked for years.

“In my opinion, in his position, he is one of the best players in the Premier League,” Koeman said yesterday.

“We want more productivity in the team after losing (striker Romelu) Lukaku (to Manchester United) and that is exactly what Gylfi brings.

“We have worked a long time to get this deal done but he is one of the key players we wanted to bring in.

“Last season, apart from Lukaku, we did not have one player who scored 10 goals. Now, with Gylfi, Wayne and Sandro, we think that might be different.”

The 27-year-old penned a five-year deal, tying him to the Merseyside club for the prime of his career.

In many ways this a homecoming for Sigurdsson.

It was revealed after he had signed with the Toffees that he had spent time on trial at the club at a youngster.

He even got a gig at Goodison Park as a ball boy and travelled with a youth team overseas.

That, obviously, was a long time ago. Sigurdsson now has his eyes on creating his own slice of history at Everton.

“Hopefully I will continue to create goals and score goals for the team and contribute to the kind of success we’re seeking at the club,” Sigurdsson told Everton’s website.

On the downside, Ross Barkley has torn a hamstring and needs an operation which will keep him out for three months, potentially scuppering a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Everton midfielder, strongly linked with a move to the north London club, was injured in a training session earlier this month and is set for at least a sixweek lay-off.

Yesterday, Koeman said Barkley needed more tests to determine the extent of the injury.

But it is understood that an operation will be recommended.

Going under the knife would put Barkley out for three months, and is likely to jeopardise any move away from Goodison Park before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

Barkley has one year left on his contract and so far has refused to sign a new deal with the club.