BRENDAN RODGERS BELIEVES Gylfi Sigurdsson has missed a wonderful opportunity by deciding to joins Spurs instead of Liverpool.
The Iceland international enjoyed an impressive loan spell at Swansea City last season, scoring seven goals in 19 appearances, and the switch looked set to become permanent in May with a 6.8 million-pound fee agreed between Hoffenheim and the Welsh outfit.
But Rodgers’ departure from the Liberty Stadium to join Liverpool led to the deal collapsing and, though linked with a move to Anfield to join his former boss, the 22-year-old instead signed for Tottenham, becoming Andre Villas-Boas’ first signing at White Hart Lane.
And the Liverpool manager feels that may prove to be a mistake.
“I brought him to Swansea and he did very well for me there, scoring seven goals in 19 games, and was very good,” Rodgers said. ”He and I both sat and spoke and believed that playing football was going to be the most important aspect for him, but obviously it was important financially so we agreed a deal for him to go to Swansea and that was wrapped up.
“I then became the Liverpool manager and that then wasn’t something that was going to happen at Swansea so he then had a choice of where he wanted to go.
“I knew what the market was and I wasn’t prepared to pay anything over what I had known was agreed before. Liverpool would have provided Gylfi with a wonderful opportunity to perform with a manager that he knows and at a club which is a real footballing institution. But he’s decided to go to Tottenham, for whatever reason.
“I wish him the best; he’s a good kid and there’s no ill feeling. We’ve got other targets and we’ll move on.”
Despite missing out on Sigurdsson, the former Reading and Watford boss maintained that work is ongoing behind the scenes to make significant additions to what he believes to be an already-very-talented squad.
“I’ve got a bunch of wonderful players here,” he said. ”I’m going to take time to have a look at that. I believe there’s one or two areas that I’ll need to improve on for sure but overall the core of the group is strong.
“Like any manager, you want to add the other pieces that can complete your jigsaw and that’s something that we’re doing over a period of time. We’re doing a lot of work off the field in terms of potential players to come in, but it will only be a certain type of player that will fit the model here at Liverpool.”
