Guðmundsson: A Match for the Old | OneFootball

Albert Guðmundsson is the most talented player per value in Serie A, and now with Juventus entering the race for his signature, Wayne Girard analyses if he’s best for the Old Lady or Inter Milan…

In Soccernomics, Simon Kuper and Stefan Syzmanski make the assertion that players from countries less known in comparison to those from traditional powerhouses are cheaper than other players of identical value from said ‘footballing countries.’

Overlooked and underutilised, this goes for players from nations such as Norway, those in West Africa, and even Canada for example. Their talent has facilitated deeper scouting networks as these unfamiliar talents broke on to the scene and made their way into the top leagues. Iceland is a shining example, with many of their international players at big clubs abroad after the government invested heavily in youth development. Albert Guðmundsson left the volcanic island’s capital of Reykjavik over a decade ago to chase his dream as a 16-year-old, and has since become its star.

Journeying around the Eredivisie, he was spotted by Genoa while at AZ Alkmaar. Originally joining the Rossoblù in Serie A, they took a quick drop down to Serie B, which ended up being the best thing for Albert’s development in Italian football. There, he lead Il Grifone to a second place finish as the club’s leading goal scorer with 11 goals, while playing as a second striker. He carried his form following promotion, setting a personal best of 14 goals in 35 matches, once again taking the crown as top scorer, and becoming Genoa’s sixth highest foreign-born goal scorer in a single Serie A season.

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While the suggested transfer cost hovers around 30 million for the attacker, the price point makes him the most clever move of the summer. Although a move to Inter Milan seemed imminent, Juventus have jumped in the race for the 27-year-old fantasista.

This now leaves the question of where he would best fit, and who needs him more. Let’s make the case for both clubs:

Juventus under Thiago Motta will utilise their left wing in a completely different manner compared to Max Allegri’s movements. Motta’s horizontal ‘2-7-2’ is entirely based on pushing the two flank players up and down the pitch to combine and create overloads with central players, and then switch the point of attack to the ‘two’ on the opposite flank. Under this tactic, Albert gets to use both of his skill sets. Playing in tight spaces, making runs, and taking players on, while when he is the player on the opposite flank, he can receive the ball in open space and put a curling effort in on net.

Under Simone Inzaghi, Guðmundsson would be featured towards the top of the attack, and most likely as cover or interchange with Lautaro Martinez. Unless the two developed a relationship and found a way to complement one another, Albert would work with Marcus Thuram or another layoff centre-forward.

This is unless, Inzaghi chooses to switch the directness of the attack through the centre, and off a more external outlet. Inter are clear at the top of Italian football, and sometimes in order to stay at the top, you need to refresh ideas and evolve strategy. This is exactly what the Icelandic seconda punta can offer.

While on paper he seems to fit better under Motta’s Juventus, Albert as a key player under a re-strategised Nerazzurri would surely keep them as the Italian team to beat. Take the risk on a major player from a country that’s just starting to establish itself in the game.