Albert Gudmundsson

[THFCSPURS19]

Spurs interested in Albert Gudmundsson as second Genoa transfer raid eyed

Tottenham will be looking for reinforcements across the pitch this summer and they could go back to the Serie A side they dealt with in January

www.football.london

Tottenham looking at hat-trick hero as potential second Genoa transfer raid after Radu Dragusin​

Tottenham will be looking for reinforcements across the pitch this summer and they could go back to the Serie A side they dealt with in January

Tottenham have shown interest in Genoa attacker Albert Gudmundsson who made history this week with an important hat-trick for Iceland.

The 26-year-old has been a shining light this season for his Serie A side, able to play in either of the three roles up front or just behind a main striker. Gudmundsson has netted 12 goals and laid on four assists from 29 matches mostly out wide for Genoa this campaign to help the promoted team into a comfortable mid-table position.


The attacker is on course to better the 14 goals and five assists he delivered last season to help the club earn promotion to the Italian top flight. football.london understands that Tottenham have shown considerable interest in the Icelandic international, along with Inter and Juventus, and the player is expected to be available for a fee between £21.5million and £26million this summer.

Spurs dealt with Genoa in January over two transfers. The first was the signing of then 21-year-old Romanian centre-back Radu Dragusin, who had been another of the team's breakout stars before and after their promotion to Serie A. As part of those negotiations, right-back Djed Spence ended up heading in the other direction on loan and is currently playing alongside Gudmundsson at Genoa, both having started in the goalless draw at Juventus before the international break.


Reports in Italy have suggested that Gudmundsson might prefer to remain in Serie A although the move of his former team-mate Dragusin to north London could also play a part if Tottenham do decide to push through a move. Gudmundsson is represented by the GG11 agency, who also have Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario on their books, and they helped the Icelandic international secure a new contract at Genoa until 2027 in November last year.

Gudmundsson became the first player in 20 years to score a hat-trick in a European Championship qualifying play-off match on Thursday night when he netted a treble against Israel in a 4-1 win in the semi-final at the Szusza Ferenc Stadium in Budapest to set up a final against Ukraine on Tuesday night to decide who goes to the tournament in Germany this summer.

The Genoa attacker has scored nine goals in 36 appearances for Iceland and his hat-trick was the first scored in a Euros play-off match since Ruud van Nistelrooy fired in three goals in a 6-0 win against Scotland in 2003. It was the second hat-trick of Gudmundsson's international career, the forward having scored one in his second appearance for Iceland back in 2018 in a friendly against Indonesia.

When speaking about signing a new centre-back this summer, Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou admitted that he wants new arrivals in most departments of his squad in the next window.

"I think it is an area of the park we will look to strengthen, but I think we’ll look to strengthen all areas of the park come the end of the season," said the Australian. "That's planning that's already underway, and other people are in charge of it at the moment."

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

This would be such a waste of money imo. Not because the player is really poor (he’s a decent player) but because he doesn’t fit our style at all.

He isn’t a winger at all, he isn’t a striker and he isn’t a CM either. He’s a second striker basically and he turns 27 in the summer and hasn’t exactly set the world alight by this age.

We need rotational FBs, at least 1 if not 2 proper wingers, a number 6, possibly a striker and a LCB. These are all far, far bigger priorities than signing someone like Gudmondsson.

I would be hugely concerned with our squad building if we prioritised signing him over the other positions mentioned. Even more concerned if we think he fits the role of striker or winger in our system.

Getting the individual talent right is one thing with recruitment but a massive part of it is knowing how to prioritise the positions and profiles you need. Signing someone like this would be a significant red flag against what so far has been really good recruitment work since Ange came in.

If we had a huge budget where we could afford to blow £20-26m on a player of this type then sure but to do so with our budget would be crazy.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

This would be such a waste of money imo. Not because the player is really poor (he’s a decent player) but because he doesn’t fit our style at all.

He isn’t a winger at all, he isn’t a striker and he isn’t a CM either. He’s a second striker basically and he turns 27 in the summer and hasn’t exactly set the world alight by this age.

We need rotational FBs, at least 1 if not 2 proper wingers, a number 6, possibly a striker and a LCB. These are all far, far bigger priorities than signing someone like Gudmondsson.

I would be hugely concerned with our squad building if we prioritised signing him over the other positions mentioned. Even more concerned if we think he fits the role of striker or winger in our system.

Getting the individual talent right is one thing with recruitment but a massive part of it is knowing how to prioritise the positions and profiles you need. Signing someone like this would be a significant red flag against what so far has been really good recruitment work since Ange came in.

If we had a huge budget where we could afford to blow £20-26m on a player of this type then sure but to do so with our budget would be crazy.

The trouble with thinking about 'prioritising' is that often times, a deal might not be a priority as such, but a lot easier and/or quicker to do. So it gets done, perhaps faster than for a player for which there is greater need. There's a danger that on occasion, assuming something was or is a 'priority' can lead to further false assumption.

 

[Japhet]

The trouble with thinking about 'prioritising' is that often times, a deal might not be a priority as such, but a lot easier and/or quicker to do. So it gets done, perhaps faster than for a player for which there is greater need. There's a danger that on occasion, assuming something was or is a 'priority' can lead to further false assumption.

Absolutely. We also have multiple irons in the fire at any one time and lower priority deals can be got over the line quicker. I have zero complaints about our recent transfer performance and am confident we can now spot talent as well as bargains.

 

[Tucker]

On the basis that no one will ever spell his name correctly, I’m out.

 

[kursaal]

On the basis that no one will ever spell his name correctly, I’m out.

A-L-B-E-R-T

 

[mr ashley]

On the basis that no one will ever spell his name correctly, I’m out.

Goodgodson !

 

[Snarfalicious]

Watched a few minutes of this fella, and I came away most impressed by his neck. It’s quite long.

 

[Montalbano]

This would be such a waste of money imo. Not because the player is really poor (he’s a decent player) but because he doesn’t fit our style at all.

He isn’t a winger at all, he isn’t a striker and he isn’t a CM either. He’s a second striker basically and he turns 27 in the summer and hasn’t exactly set the world alight by this age.

I don’t think he’d be signed to play in any of the positions you mentioned. Solely watching his YouTube reel he looks best suited to play as the 10 in our system and rotate with Maddison. I actually think he could do well in that position and his skill set resembles Maddison’s

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

I don’t think he’d be signed to play in any of the positions you mentioned. Solely watching his YouTube reel he looks best suited to play as the 10 in our system and rotate with Maddison. I actually think he could do well in that position and his skill set resembles Maddison’s

Even if he could play 10/CM in our system, which I’m not sure of, it seems crazy to sign a Maddison rotation for £20-26 million when we have several massive young talents coming through who can all play that role (Bergvall, Devine, Donley) plus Deki who can cover it too. Meanwhile we are desperately short of quality out wide, need more depth at FB and quality at 6 and possibly striker and LCB as I mentioned previously.

Spending this kind of money on him will not only block the path of 3 super talented young players we have, it will also use up a chunk of our money and leave us short in more important areas.

 

[King of the Lane]

Inter really want him and I think he fits their style better as they dont play with traditional wingers.

 

[ukdy]

Watched a few minutes of this fella, and I came away most impressed by his neck. It’s quite long.

 

[Wig]

Watched a few minutes of this fella, and I came away most impressed by his neck. It’s quite long.

Albert "Periscope" Guðmundsson... it's what helps give him the vision on the pitch

 

[Guntz]

Yeah, let's sign another #10 and shoehorn him out on the wing...

 

[Montalbano]

Even if he could play 10/CM in our system, which I’m not sure of, it seems crazy to sign a Maddison rotation for £20-26 million when we have several massive young talents coming through who can all play that role (Bergvall, Devine, Donley) plus Deki who can cover it too. Meanwhile we are desperately short of quality out wide, need more depth at FB and quality at 6 and possibly striker and LCB as I mentioned previously.

Spending this kind of money on him will not only block the path of 3 super talented young players we have, it will also use up a chunk of our money and leave us short in more important areas.

Maddison can’t play 50+ games next season. Devine can’t get time for Plymouth right now. Donley needs a season of senior football elsewhere. Bergvall is an unknown I guess. I agree three massive talents but seems unlikely they will be in Ange’s plans next season.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

I was going to write a long outline about him but then decided against it.

In short, I am really big fan of Albert. I think he is a quality player and easily one of the standouts of Seria A this season. He is a very slick player with some very attractive attacking attributes. This summer he 100% needs to move as he is easily good enough to play for a top team. He's an extremely technical player who is a constant threat in the top end of the pitch. He is excellent at receiving the ball on the half turn in a transition and has great acceleration and speed of thought. He is excellent at set pieces. His movement inside and around the box makes him impossible to pin down and he is a good finisher. He really is a very underrated player and one who I love to watch BUT he is a second striker.

He is versatile and technically proficient enough that he can play a number of different positions such as AM, WF and CF but not to a degree where you would want play him there permanently. Yes he will cover a lot of ground and if you look at his heat map it shows a player that pops up everywhere in the opposition half but that doesn't mean he would be naturally suited to a different role. His all round defensive game isn't strong enough to play AM/CM with any regularity and also when he plays too deep he can sometimes struggle to influence the game as much as he normally does further up the pitch. Case in point was Genoa's last game against Juve where he was sitting deeper for a lot of it and was largely anonymous save for one or two moments. The role of a lone CF is far too ridged for him and he doesn't fair well when being asked to stay too stationary as movement is key to game. And as a wing option he will always end up dropping central as he doesn't like to be isolated out on the wing and we need our WF to keep the width. His game is at its best is when he has freedom to drift around the edge of the box. He feeds of the space given to him by another CF who takes away the attention for CB's. He has been compared to younger Dybala in the past, not just because of how he wears his socks, and I can certainly see the likeness in regards to the position he is most effective in.

I actually mentioned him as someone I could see us going for last Jan in the transfer forum as we had space for a versatile player to plug the gaps in the front line especially in the short term. But that was at a point before we had Werner, Gil was out of favour and Gio, Solomon and Maddison were all injured whilst Richy was ether off form or injured. Coming into summer tho i'm not sure if that necessarily is still the case. We don't really need to plug any gaps, we need to strengthen our first 11 in some key areas and add depth in defence. Also by strengthening the first 11 you are also boosting your depth in that players who are currently starters now will be moved to the bench. I also think with sales we can actually afford to pick players that suit specific roles in the system rather then looking at a versatile gap filler. If Gil, Gio and Richy go then we can afford to get a WF, AM and CF, we don't need an all in one. The reality is there are more options in the summer window so we can afford to be more picky.

I really like the player a lot, if we did end up getting him part of me would be excited to see him in a Spurs shirt but he is by far his best as a second striker. which we don't play. Yes he is versatile but whilst he would be able to cover a lot of different positions in our system none of them would be a natural fit for him. He has been linked to Juve and Inter and both teams would be a much better fit for him as both play with a two up top.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Also just to add, Genoa play Frosinone at 2pm on Sat. A good chance to watch two of Seria A’s best attackers in Guðmundsson and Soulé. I know the second half clashes with our game but should still be able to get a taste of both players.

 

[luRRka]

Scored for iceland tonight. Great goal

 

[cjsimba]

Scored for iceland tonight. Great goal

Asking price just gone up by £5m

 

[Montalbano]

I was going to write a long outline about him but then decided against it.

In short, I am really big fan of Albert. I think he is a quality player and easily one of the standouts of Seria A this season. He is a very slick player with some very attractive attacking attributes. This summer he 100% needs to move as he is easily good enough to play for a top team. He's an extremely technical player who is a constant threat in the top end of the pitch. He is excellent at receiving the ball on the half turn in a transition and has great acceleration and speed of thought. He is excellent at set pieces. His movement inside and around the box makes him impossible to pin down and he is a good finisher. He really is a very underrated player and one who I love to watch BUT he is a second striker.

He is versatile and technically proficient enough that he can play a number of different positions such as AM, WF and CF but not to a degree where you would want play him there permanently. Yes he will cover a lot of ground and if you look at his heat map it shows a player that pops up everywhere in the opposition half but that doesn't mean he would be naturally suited to a different role. His all round defensive game isn't strong enough to play AM/CM with any regularity and also when he plays too deep he can sometimes struggle to influence the game as much as he normally does further up the pitch. Case in point was Genoa's last game against Juve where he was sitting deeper for a lot of it and was largely anonymous save for one or two moments. The role of a lone CF is far too ridged for him and he doesn't fair well when being asked to stay too stationary as movement is key to game. And as a wing option he will always end up dropping central as he doesn't like to be isolated out on the wing and we need our WF to keep the width. His game is at its best is when he has freedom to drift around the edge of the box. He feeds of the space given to him by another CF who takes away the attention for CB's. He has been compared to younger Dybala in the past, not just because of how he wears his socks, and I can certainly see the likeness in regards to the position he is most effective in.

I actually mentioned him as someone I could see us going for last Jan in the transfer forum as we had space for a versatile player to plug the gaps in the front line especially in the short term. But that was at a point before we had Werner, Gil was out of favour and Gio, Solomon and Maddison were all injured whilst Richy was ether off form or injured. Coming into summer tho i'm not sure if that necessarily is still the case. We don't really need to plug any gaps, we need to strengthen our first 11 in some key areas and add depth in defence. Also by strengthening the first 11 you are also boosting your depth in that players who are currently starters now will be moved to the bench. I also think with sales we can actually afford to pick players that suit specific roles in the system rather then looking at a versatile gap filler. If Gil, Gio and Richy go then we can afford to get a WF, AM and CF, we don't need an all in one. The reality is there are more options in the summer window so we can afford to be more picky.

I really like the player a lot, if we did end up getting him part of me would be excited to see him in a Spurs shirt but he is by far his best as a second striker. which we don't play. Yes he is versatile but whilst he would be able to cover a lot of different positions in our system none of them would be a natural fit for him. He has been linked to Juve and Inter and both teams would be a much better fit for him as both play with a two up top.

Second striker / 10 is quite a blurred line. At his best for us, Maddison not only dropped deep but also occupied positions in and around the box that you’d expect from a “second striker” like Dybala. I struggle to see why Albert, with similar traits to Maddison that you listed above, couldn’t operate similarly