Sigi, who joined from German outfit Hoffenheim for £8million,
was widely expected to follow new Kop boss Rodgers to Anfield after
starring on loan for him at Swansea last season.
But the goalscoring midfielder said: “Everything about Tottenham
just felt right for me. Liverpool are also a fantastic club but if
you look at where Tottenham have finished in the last few years,
they finished above Liverpool.
“With a new manager, a new training ground and plans for a new
stadium, I believe there are exciting times are ahead.”
Sigurdsson spoke as he modelled the new Tottenham kit, which is
made by Under Armour and available at tottenhamhotspur.com.
Last season, he scored seven goals in 18 Prem appearances after
joining Rodgers’ Swans in January.
The Welsh club’s attempts to sign the player on a permanent deal
collapsed when Rodgers’ quit the club to take over at Liverpool
last month.
Rodgers’ then tried to take him to Anfield and Sigurdsson said:
“I think everyone expected me to follow Brendan.
“But I had made my mind up to come to Tottenham and I’m happy
with my decision.
“Brendan’s a fantastic manager, I enjoyed my time at Swansea
with him and hopefully he will do well at Liverpool. I spoke to him
briefly after I had made my decision.
“What I said to him after I told him I wasn’t going to Liverpool
is between me and him. Obviously I owe him a lot. But in that sense
it’s a new era for me.”
It is also a new era for his boss AVB, who replaced Harry
Redknapp at White Hart Lane this summer after lasting just 256 days
as manager at Chelsea.
Sigi said: “If you look at his record at Porto, it was
unbelievable. He won the Double and Europa League.
“Obviously it didn’t work out at Chelsea but he’s still
a fantastic manager.
“All of the boys in the first week in training have been very
happy with him and his sessions and his ambitions. Training has
been very lively and he gets involved a lot.
“There have been many great managers who have gone to Chelsea
and it hasn’t worked out for them.
“It’s probably one of the hardest jobs in the world to go to
Chelsea. When things don’t go right, you are in trouble but he’s
more than determined to do well with Tottenham. You can see that in
training.
“He’s young, he’s got a great future ahead of him. he’s a
fantastic manager and that’s why Tottenham brought him in.
Everything’s here for him to do well.”
But forget AVB, Sigi is more excited about working with coaches
Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand. He said: “I’ve been watching the
Premier League since I was about eight. I’ve always known about
Tottenham.
“They have a good history. I remember a few of the old boys like
David Ginola, Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand.
“Tim and Les are still at the club now. They won’t be too happy
I’ve called them old boys. I’ve met them and it was quite exciting
for me. I’m still only 22.
“I haven’t told them I used to watch them play — I’m hoping they
read this!”
Spurs also unveiled £10m centre-half Jan Vertonghen yesterday
after his switch from Ajax was confirmed.
The 25-year-old, who captained the Amsterdam club, agreed terms
with Spurs at the weekend and has now completed the formalities
after passing a medical.
Spurs had been tracking the Belgium international for months,
with Vertonghen winning last season’s Eredivisie player of the
season award as Ajax won the league.
Vertonghen said: “I am very relieved. It went on for a long time
but I’m glad I’m a Tottenham player right now and I’m looking
forward to playing for the club.
“I am 25 years old now and I feel ready to play in the Premier
League. I heard that Harry Redknapp really wanted me to play for
Tottenham, but now it’s Andre Villas-Boas. To me, that doesn’t
matter.
“I just want to play for the club and I hope I can please the
fans at the club.”
