New Tottenham signing Gylfi Sigurdsson has revealed that he chose north London over a move to Liverpool after being impressed by the club's plans for the future.
The midfielder won many plaudits while on loan at Swansea City, and was due to join the Swans after the Welsh club agreed a £6.8 million fee with parent club Hoffenheim, only to have hesitations when manager Brendan Rodgers left to take over at Liverpool.
Rodgers was keen to take the 22-year-old with him to Anfield, but Sigurdsson's decision to choose Tottenham over Merseyside was confirmed on Wednesday, with the Iceland international citing Spurs’ superior ambition and talent as key.
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Sigurdsson told MBL: "I enjoyed playing under Brendan and I am grateful for everything he has done for me, but after careful consideration I liked Spurs best. The team has world-class players in their ranks and they play good football, which I like.
"I was impressed with the club's plans for next season and the coming years. There is clearly great ambition at Tottenham and the club intends to do big things. It is a pleasure to see that Gareth Bale has signed a new contract."
Tottenham were unsuccessful in their pursuit of Champions League football last term, as Chelsea's shoot-out win over Bayern Munich in the competition’s final denied them a place among Europe's elite next season.
Despite this, Sigurdsson believes his new club can challenge for a top-four spot under new manager Andre Villas-Boas, who was confirmed as Harry Redknapp's replacement on Tuesday – adding that a meeting for the ex-Chelsea boss only served to cement his excitement.
He added: "I like him and the ideas he has. He has faith in me and I'm looking forward to working under his leadership."