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Will Anyone Pay £50m For Gylfi Sigurdsson?

Swansea may have beaten the drop last season thanks to the masterstroke of appointing Paul Clement back in January but for all his work off the pitch a lot of the plaudits have to go to the Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson. He was instrumental in the revival that took place at the Liberty Stadium and it comes as no real surprise that he has attracted the attention of a whole host of potential suitors.

For the past few weeks the likes of Everton, Leicester and even former club Tottenham have been linked with signing the Iceland international with a fee anywhere between £27m and £40m being quoted as the one required to take him away from South Wales.

But for all the potential transfer talk that has been connected to the player this could now grind to a halt. That is due to the announcement that Swansea are not prepared to sell their most prized asset for anything less than an eye watering £50m.

And with a value that high the question that has to be asked is whether or not any club will actually stump up the money reqiured. For Swansea this either becomes the ultimate ‘hands off’ to other Premier League outfits looking to acquire the services of Sigurdsson or they can cash in very handsomely.

£50m is not an amount of money to be sniffed at but for a club like Swansea you do have to wonder if they would be better off trying their absolute best to keep a player of Sigurdsson’s ilk at the Liberty Stadium, for a club of their size and this is of no detriment to them these kind of players do not grow on trees.

Yes it would be a hefty windfall but then there is also the concern as to whether or not it will spent wisely and not only that where can they get a player who can match not only the talents of the 27 year old but the contribution that he has made to the club over the past two seasons.

Ultimately though Swansea do not want to sell the player and are in the fortunate position where they do not necessarily have to either, had they been relegated to the EFL Championship in May then it is quite apparent that the departure of Sigurdsson would have been one of the first out of the door

But with top flight status secured they can now roll their sleeves up and do their best to fend off any prying eyes that may well be looking in the direction of the one time former Reading midfielder and with a price tag that high on the player they may well have just warned off any unwanted attention.

Everton may well be spending money like it is going out of fashion and do have the funds to spend should they be required but they do need to sign Sigurdsson as well now that they have added Wayne Rooney to an attacking midfield unit that could consist of the the England record goalscorer, Davy Klassen who has joined from Ajax and  Ross Barkley.

Unless Rooney is played up front then it could be one player too many but then again you could argue that the versatility of the perennial Icelandic Footballer of the Year could still mean he is a top target even with this increased price tag.

That could be even more so should Ross Barkley be edged out of Goodison Park this summer, any potential move to Tottenham seems to have cooled after the Merseyside club themselves wanted a fee similar to that of £50m and when you consider that the England international is out of contract in just under a year then that is a no brainer

So with a move to Tottenham a non starter due to the money required you do have to wonder whether or not Daniel Levy will be prepared to pay the same amount for a player who left White Hart Lane in 2015. The Tottenham chairman has bought old faces back to the club when required with Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe having more than one stint at the club but this would require a much more hefty outlay.

And it is for that reason that I think any potential return to North London becomes unlikely, not only because of the money involved but will Sigurdsson want to come back to the club to once again not be sure of a guaranteed first team place.

It would almost be nonsensical to see the player go from Swansea to Tottenham twice, that is not to say it is impossible but in my opinion it just looks like a transfer that lacks any real logic and we all know that Daniel Levy is not one to waste money.

The third horse in the race that may well become a non starter is that of Leicester City, they are not short of money simply due to the fact that they are a Premier League team but will they be prepared to shatter their own transfer record in a bid to land the player.

There is no reason why they cannot but at the same time you would have to question why exactly the man in question would want to swap Swansea for Leicester. Yes they may have won the title back in 2016 but last season was very much a revert to type.

So the situation is still unclear but Swansea are now definitely in the box seat with their latest demands and although it may be posturing on their part it may well just be enough to make sure their most business in this transfer window is a player who leaves rather than a new signing.

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