Gylfi Sigurdsson
Gylfi Sigurdsson swanseacity.net

Iceland international Gylfi Sigurdsson has revealed he rejected an approach by Liverpool in favour of signing for Tottenham Hotspur.

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder spent the second half of last season on loan at Swansea City, where he enjoyed an impressive spell. There were reports in the summer that the Swans had agreed a deal with his parent club, Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, for a permanent transfer but that was swiftly denied.

Nevertheless, he had been linked with a permanent move to the Premier League for some time and when Brendan Rodgers (his manager at Swansea) joined Liverpool, reports suggested the youngster would re-join the Northern Irishman at Anfield. However, Sigurdsson chose to join Andre Villas-Boas at White Hart Lane instead.

"Everything [about the team is attractive]. There's a new training ground, it's a massive club with fantastic players. There's talk about a new stadium. The ambition of the club is really high," Sigurdsson told Goal.com.

Sigurdsson is expected to compete with Holland's Rafael van der Vaart and Croatia's Luka Modric for a place in the first 11 but has admitted he would rather not have to compete with the Dutchman.

"Hopefully, [Van der Vaart's role] will be behind the striker or in the midfield," Sigurdsson said, adding, "As long as I'm playing, I'm very happy. Like every other player, I want to play. So hopefully, I get some minutes under my belt. I want to do well for the team."

Meanwhile, Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone feels the club will benefit from the fact AVB is only 34 years old. The 25-year-old midfielder also refused to be drawn on comparisons between AVB and former manager Harry Redknapp.

"Even with the manager's age, he's got a lot of experience. We've got a pretty young squad ourselves so I think we'll probably gel well with each other. I don't know [the management style is] necessarily different. Every manager has their own way of managing but he's very professional and organised. The lads are like that anyways so I think it's a good combination."