Who is Albert Gudmundsson? Genoa’s Icelandic sensation who rejected Arsenal and Liverpool

Carlo Garganese

• 24 Mar 2024 16:22 GMT
• 4 min read

The breakout star of the Serie A season in these early weeks has been Genoa attacker Albert Gudmundsson.

At the age of 26, Gudmundsson is no spring chicken but his sheer quality for the newly-promoted Ligurians already has bigger clubs looking at him, with FootballTransfers reporting that Tottenham are keen.

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So what do we know about Gudmundsson?

What club does Albert Gudmundsson play for?

Genoa.

He joined the Italian club in January 2022 from AZ for €1.2m.

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What position does Albert Gudmundsson play in?

Gudmundsson has been playing as a centre forward in a 3-5-2 with Genoa under coach Alberto Gilardino. He has been the support striker to number 9 Mateo Retegui.

The attacker also can play as a winger on either side or even as a central attacking midfielder.

How good is Albert Gudmundsson?

Gudmundsson has been one of the best players in Serie A in the early weeks of the 2023-24 season.

He has scored four goals in all competitions, which included a brace in the 2-2 draw with Udinese on October 1. In the process, he became the first Icelandic player ever to score a double in Serie A. It would have been a hat-trick had he not had another goal narrowly disallowed for offside.

Gundmundsson is a skilful, technical, creative attacker who is an expert dribbler and twists and turns his way past opponents. He is quick, especially over the first five meters and likes to try a through pass. This was demonstrated with a brilliant assist - after beating three men - for Retegui in the 4-1 win over Jose Mourinho’s Roma in September.

The Icelandic international played a key role in Genoa’s promotion from Serie B in 2022-23, scoring 11 goals and providing five assists in 36 games.

He comes from a footballing family. His father and mother were both famous Iceland internationals, while his grandfather Ingi Bjorn Albertsson was the top scorer of Iceland’s top division from 1987 to 2012.

Gundmundsson’s great grandfather Albert was Iceland’s first ever professional footballer, who played for AC Milan and Arsenal in the 1940s.

Albert has been capped 36 times by Iceland, scoring six goals, and he was in their squad for the 2018 World Cup.

He joined Genoa in 2022 for €1.2m from AZ after four successful years there. He previously failed to make the grade at PSV after excelling with their reserve team, and before that with Heerenveen’s youth team.

What clubs are interested in Albert Gudmundsson?

As a teenager, Gundmundsson rejected offers from Arsenal and Liverpool in order to sign for Heerenveen’s youth teams. He felt at the time it was the best place for him to develop as a footballer.

In recent months, he has attracted interest from a number of Serie A’s bigger clubs, including Spurs, Inter Milan, and Juventus.

Gudmundsson’s favourite club is Barcelona.

How old is Albert Gudmundsson?

Gundmundsson was born on 15 June 1997. He is 26.