Preston North End’s summer recruitment continues last week as Iceland international Stefan Teitur Thordarson completed a move to Deepdale.
A new midfielder was an absolute priority for PNE this summer with Alan Browne deciding to move on.
The North End captain decided to leave this summer and has already completed a move to Championship rivals Sunderland.
PNE needed to find a new box-to-box threat in midfield and have gone to the European market to find Browne’s replacement.
North End have snapped up Silkeborg midfielder Stefan Teitur Thordarson, beating the likes of Derby County and Queens Park Rangers to his signature.
A fee of around £700,000 has been paid for Thordarson, who was inside the final stages of his Silkeborg contract.
Thordarson arrives with international experience having made more than 20 appearances for Iceland, scoring one goal.
The 25-year-old is a tall box-to-box midfielder who has shown the ability to carry the ball through midfield and even pop up with a few goals; Thordarson scored 11 times last season.
Thordarson isn’t exactly a household name to PNE fans, so we spoke to Icelandic football expert Lucas Arnold for some information about PNE’s latest signing…
What are Stefan Thordarson’s biggest strengths and main weaknesses?
So it’s hard for me to point out too many of Thordarson’s weaknesses given most of my time watching him was in Iceland, when he had become too good for the league very quickly.
But playing as a midfielder, Thordarson’s eye for a goal is definitely a big strength, given he originally started life as a striker. Thordarson enjoyed the Wayne Rooney progression into midfield, just at the start of his career rather than at the end.
When he was young Thordarson scored 10 goals in 22 games in Iceland’s second division, which really caused scouts to start taking notice.
And then after a few seasons of refining his game as a box-to-box midfielder it was time to head to Denmark, where he never really looked back.
Thordarson’s size means he’s a great runner with the ball, and also handy in a duel too.
Thordarson broke through with ÍA in Iceland and seemed to split his time between defensive midfield, central midfield and even as a striker; which position and role do you think is Thordarson’s best?
So I’ve touched on this quite a lot already but Thordarson is definitely best as a centre-mid these days, it wouldn’t be a good idea for Preston to try and reinvigorate his days as a striker.
Similarly, I don’t think a defensive midfield role gets the best out of Thordarson’s skill-set, who is excellent at timing his runs into the opposition box from deep positions.
Thordarson hit nine league goals last season, would you consider that to be a one-off or does he regularly offer a goal threat from midfield?
I don’t really think I’ve watched Thordarson play a game when he wasn’t a goal threat – it’s too ingrained in his football.
It won’t be easy to adjust to the Championship immediately but once he’s settled I definitely think he’ll be seeing some Icelandic goal memes shared on Preston’s Twitter.
Thordarson has attracted a lot of Championship interest with Derby County and QPR also keen, do you think he is ready for this step in his career?
Absolutely, I think the time is right for Thordarson. He’s done incredibly well in Denmark – adapted so quickly which not all players leaving Iceland at that age manage to do.
He’s been so consistent for Silkeborg who did try to offer him a new contract – which he rejected. I doubt it was just about the terms on offer personally, I think Thordarson was ready to try something new, as this move evidences.
Right now, Thordarson is right the cusp of playing a bigger role for Iceland, and this is his opportunity to ensure he’s seen as more than a squad player for the national team.
PNE have paid around £700,000 to sign Thordarson, do you think that is a fair price with just six months left on his contract?
In all honesty it’s incredibly hard to say – but I doubt it’s a fee that Preston will regret. Perhaps the best comparison in that regard is considering what Arnor Sigurdsson could be worth at Blackburn Rovers now were he sold? I think he could fetch a few million.
Sigurdsson joined on a free from Russia and made a pretty good impression. Thordarson will hope to deliver a similar level of performance in England, even if they play in slightly different positions.
Thordarson has bagged 20 caps for Iceland, totalling just over 1000 minutes. Why has Thordarson been in and out of the team so far and is there real hope for him to become a fixture of the Iceland starting XI moving forward?
Right now Thordarson is a squad player for Age Hareide – the Norwegian coach who just took over Iceland. But the early signs are very promising that Thordarson could be set for a bigger role.
Iceland have a very young team right now, they’re going through a bit of a transition. And it’s odd to say but at 25, Thordarson is almost something of an experienced head in the middle, a bit of a utility man who could easily creep his pay into the starting XI if he starts at Preston well.
Moving to the Championship will definitely help in that regard, a bigger platform for him to prove his ability.
Is there anything else PNE fans should know about Thordarson?
First of all, if you really want to get in Thordarson’s good books, Preston fans should refer to him as ‘Stefan Teitur’ – his first names. It’s common practice in Iceland to call players by their first names because surnames can be very similar – so he’d appreciate that for sure!
Another fun fact, Stefan Teitur – as we’ll now call him, used to play alongside his brother Thordur Thorsteinn Thordarson at his boyhood club Akranes, who arguably got the better name.
But after years playing in Iceland, Thordur Thorsteinn decided to hang up his boots to become a ref, which he still does today.
And in that regard Stefan Teitur has a very strong footballing heritage in his family. His Dad, Thordur earned a cap for Iceland and his uncle Stefan also played for his country six times. But with 20 caps to his name now, and plenty more to come, Stefan Teitur definitely has the bragging rights now.
You can follow Lucas Arnold on X at @FotboltiLucas, as well as his Icelandic football podcast @FotboltiTalk.