Everton’s impressive summer spending spree is set to hit a stumbling block if they go knocking on Swansea City’s door asking for Gylfi Sigurdsson.
The Toffees have smashed their transfer record by taking goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from Sunderland for £30million, and they’ve also splashed out £24million on Ajax midfielder Davy Klaassen. It also looks certain that they will stave off competition from Atletico Madrid and Juventus to sign Malaga’s Spain Under-21 international Sandro Ramirez for a tad under £6million.
Despite the addition of Klaassen, it has been widely reported that manager Ronald Koeman also wants to bolster his midfield options with Sigurdsson. The Iceland star is regarded as one of the most productive players in the Premier League and was largely responsible for keeping Swansea in the division last season, when he scored nine goals and assisted 13 more.
It is thought that the Goodison Park boss is prepared to pay around £25million for the 27-year-old, who has also been linked with West Ham United and a return to his former club, Tottenham Hotspur. However, Liberty Stadium chairman Huw Jenkins has revealed that no bids have yet been made, and in any case, he plans to keep Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente at the club.
“If we ever get any firm bids then we will deal with them in the proper way,” he told Sky Sports. “Our aim is to try and keep Gylfi and Fernando, keep our better players and to make sure we can add to Paul’s [Clement] squad. It’s hard to suggest what sort of value Gylfi has, but to us he is priceless and we’ve got to make sure we do everything in our power to make sure he stays with us.”
Meanwhile, the Swans hope to beat off competition from Premier League new boys Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United to take England Under-21 international striker Tammy Abrahams on loan from Chelsea. The teenager would likely replace Bafetimbi Gomis in the Swansea squad, with the French striker expected to join Turkish side Galatasaray during the summer.
