Gylfi saga must end now before it damages club
SWANSEA City fans must be as fed up of seeing “Gylfi Sigurdsson”, “Everton” and “£40 million” crop up on their Twitter/NewsNow/Facebook feeds as we journalists are about writing about him.
It has been the story of the summer, certainly in these parts.
Not for us the speculation over Alexis Sanchez or Neymar. Oh no.
It is the question most asked in pubs from Mumbles to Mayhill. Is Gylfi going or staying? You wonder whether that is being uttered on the Fairwood training field, too.
The board have maintained a strong stance over the past few months, refusing to relent to Everton’s pursuit of their star man.
£50 million price tags, warnings of tapping up, statements from across the pond. The latest indications point to a player-plus-cash deal being on the table involving youngster Callum Connolly.
It would be structured along the lines of £40 milllion, plus £5 million in add-ons, plus the £5 million-rated 19-year-old. That takes it to the golden figure. It has to be said that up to this point Swansea have played it well and have driven a hard bargain.
But this has rumbled on for too long and there is now a risk it will overshadow other business and preparations for the new campaign.
Manager Paul Clement, after the 2-0 friendly win over Birmingham at the weekend, said the situation would be sorted “imminently” — and that is good news for all concerned. When asked if the uncertainty surrounding Sigurdsson was affecting the pursuit of other targets, he said: “That’s the key. If we are going to make things happen they need to be done quickly so that we do have time to get the right player in, the right Swansea City player.
“We are confident we have done our due diligence in looking at potential replacements if we need them. Maybe we are not going to, but if we do we will be ready.”
A swift resolution, one way or another, will allow Clement to know what he has to play with, quite literally.
If a deal is to be done, the fee received can be reinvested; the club have a shortlist of names drawn up in the event of any sale. But the longer this drags out, the less likely that those names will still be available. Negotiations take time. Bedding in players takes even longer.
Swansea face Sampdoria at the Liberty this weekend in their final pre-season game before the 2017-18 campaign gets under way in earnest.
This Icelandic cloud cannot overhang the start of the season.
Sigurdsson, due to train with the first team again on Monday, needs clarification himself. As does everybody in this. This fascinating game of poker has to come to an end eventually, and with a month left of the transfer window, someone has to blink first.
Another four weeks of will-hewon’t-he speculation won’t help anyone, especially Swansea.
A resolution this week must be the target.