Gylfi Sigurdsson hopes to open talks with Swansea City over a new contract in the wake of his performances for Iceland at the European Championship.
The attacking midfielder was a key member of the side whose first appearance at a major finals saw them draw with Portugal and eliminate England before bowing out in the quarter-final against the hosts, France, on Sunday. Sigurdsson played every minute of his country’s five matches at Euro 2016, scoring against Hungary in the group stage and providing a constant threat from set pieces.
The 26-year-old, who moved to Swansea from Tottenham Hotspur for £6.8m in 2014 having enjoyed a loan spell at the Liberty Stadium in 2012, is contracted for a further two seasons and was instrumental in instigating an upturn in form over the second half of last term. “We had a very good last few months as a team because we’d been pretty poor over the first half of the season,” Sigurdsson said. “But we got better.
“I’ve got another couple of years left on my contract and I’m very happy, I’m not running away. There hasn’t been any talks with Swansea yet because of the Euros but hopefully I’ll get a call this week.”
Iceland’s progress in France has been one of the stories of the tournament, with their players using the finals as an opportunity to further their club careers. The joint-manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, who is expected to take over in full from the departing Lars Lagerback, has suggested many of the squad will now be picked up by teams in Europe’s elite leagues.
“All of the players want to play in the Premier League,” Sigurdsson said. “I think it’s about being in the right place at the right time. If someone wants to take a chance then I would definitely say give them a go. They are good guys, good personalities and good players.
“It’s been a fantastic three or four weeks for us and it’s up to the players if they want to experience this again. We’ve got the qualifiers coming up for the Russia World Cup and I hope we can go all the way there. I’m pretty sure Heimir will do a good job even if it is sad seeing someone like Lars Lagerback leaving. He was part of something special.”
