Everton’s pursuit of Gylfi Sigurdsson has dominated the headlines this summer in the Premier League.
Will he stay or will he go? That’s been the question hovering over the Liberty Stadium all summer as Swansea prepare for another tough season in the top flight.
His withdrawal from pre-season friendlies, whether it be his choice or Paul Clement’s have been well documented each time, and now it has been revealed that we wont feature in the Premier League opener against Southampton.
The Swans are desperately holding out for £50 million for their star man and have rejected offers of around £45 from Everton.
In short, Swansea could be ruining their season for the sake of £5 million, and while it may not be that simple - because they wan’t to keep hold of their best player - it certainly will look that simply if come May, Swansea are in trouble again.
Swans boss Paul Clement has repeatedly come out and said “We refuse to let this drag on and affect our season”, but hasn’t it already?
The opening day of the season is just days away and not only will Swansea be taking on Southampton without their star man, they haven’t got the money to replace him, either.
While this drags on, Swansea haven’t got the use of their star player anyway, so what are they trying to achieve?
Of course, it often pays to stand up to players and other clubs, and on one hand we can praise Swansea’s resilience, but on the other, it has gone too far and the player now has to leave.
Sigurdsson, whether he admits it or not, wants to leave to play European football and Swansea aren’t going to get the best out of him again after this saga.
Ronal Koeman’s Everton are willing to pay around £45 million and while the market is inflated, you can bet if Swansea reinvest around £35 million of that and do it wisely, they will get their hands on a very good player, one that wants to play for Swansea City.
It’s only a matter of time before the issue has a negative affect on the Liberty Stadium dressing room and it’s now up to Paul Clement to stand up and protect the rest of his squad.
It’s also clearly having a bad impact on the supporters around SA1 who have gone from idolising the talented midfielder, to being sick of hearing his name.
The squad of players who fully want to play for Swansea City this season should be the priority heading into the Premier League season and due to the ongoing Sigurdsson saga, they are not.
Swansea must now put an end to the situation as soon as possible, collect their £45 million and reinvest to create a stronger squad to embark on what is going to be another tough season in the Premier League.
(Featured image: Ronnie MacDonald)