Why, at all costs, Newcastle, West Ham and Leicester should not sign the forward who brought down England

The star of Iceland’s most recent victory at Wembley has been linked to three Premier League clubs; but is he capable of handling the pressure?

Just ask Icelandic forward Jón Dagur Thorsteinsson, who scored the game-winning goal at Wembley less than two weeks ago, and he’s suddenly being connected to Leicester City, West Ham United, and Newcastle United. It’s remarkable how quickly a single, solitary goal can send a player into the gossip mill. For a player who only scored eight goals this season, it’s quite the wild climb up the rumours list.

The Newcastle Chronicle is one of the media sources speculating that Premier League teams could be considering the 25-year-old, who upset England with a stunning finish just before Euro 2024 and had the opportunity to score at least once more in their 1-0 victory. However, there is no indication that he would succeed in the English premier league, even if he has scored against the national team.

Thorsteinsson, who spent four years as a Fulham junior player without playing in a professional match, is currently a player for OH Leuven in Belgium, where in two years he has scored 19 goals in 71 games. That includes 12 goals in the Pro League in 2022–2023, his most productive season with AGF in Denmark or Belgium without a doubt. Stated differently, he has yet to demonstrate that he can score goals at a level below Premier League standards.

Of sure, he has many qualities that make him appealing. He is a very diligent player who excels in a pressing unit, forcing numerous turnovers and using every opportunity to get under defenders’ noses. He was also quite successful in this regard against England, making a few good tackles and harassing and harrying in a way that was appropriately annoying.

But he doesn’t score goals in huge volumes, he isn’t a great technician, doesn’t set a vast number of goals up (his seven Pro League assists in 37 games was a career best) and nor is he especially impressive physically, being neither especially quick nor strong. There is, in short, a reason he didn’t make the cut at Craven Cottage.
Thorsteinsson’s career has been quite respectable after that setback. He has won 37 caps for his country (his goal against England was his fifth), and he finished the Belgian season with three straight goals. He plays with heart on his sleeve and rarely exits the pitch without seeming to have given it his all, but that’s where the problem lies: he lacks the kind of stats that would indicate he can succeed in the Premier League.

It may be that none of the three teams supposedly interested in him and taking all that close of a look. Scoring a memorable goal at Wembley is enough to make a player the flavour of the month in the gossip columns sometimes, and there is a definite lack of detail surrounding the claims – no price tag, for starters. This may be a bit of hearsay.

Or maybe other teams searching for depth options have noticed that he can score a few games quickly while wearing himself out and have chosen to investigate more. And what they will witness is a good player for Iceland who would likely be a good player at the Championship level. However, considering how many goals and assists he has managed in Denmark or Belgium, it is difficult to see him making a significant impact as Newcastle or West Ham attempt to qualify for Europe the following season. Maybe he’ll show us incorrect. We wouldn’t be the first Englishmen silenced by him this summer, after all.

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