No place for Sigurdsson
SWANSEA City are set to kick-off the new Premier League season without Gylfi Sigurdsson – regardless of whether his proposed £50m transfer to Everton goes through.
Sigurdsson has not been involved in any of Swansea’s pre-season friendlies following his decision to pull out of the side’s tour of America a month ago amid interest from the Goodison club.
And Swans boss Paul Clement is not expected to be considering the Iceland ace for Saturday’s campaign opener at Southampton.
Sigurdsson, 27, has trained regularly with Clement’s squad since their return from the States, but has not been involved in any of the build-up games ahead of the trip to St Mary’s. He is said to have made it known he would be interested in joining Ronald Koeman’s side, with Clement saying last weekend his focus was one “the players that want to be here, want to work and that want to improve.”
The former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich No.2 is known to have been left frustrated by the situation surrounding last year’s player of the season, having long said he wanted the matter resolved in advance of the campaign kick-off.
But while talks are still said to be close, there is still no signs of a breakthrough in negotiations with now less than 72 hours before the start of Swansea’s seventh Premier League season.
It has been suggested that Everton chief Koeman has himself been disappointed the Toffees are yet to seal a deal for Sigurdsson, with the Dutchman having made the No.10 his main summer target.
Swansea have stuck to their guns over their valuation of Sigurdsson and have stated they would be loathe to lose the Euro 2016 star.
Yet there is an eagerness to bring a conclusion to the saga, with the club believed to be ready to press ahead with replacements if or when the deal goes through.
ASPECIAL night for a special player and servant of Swansea City Football Club.
There were moments during Alan Tate’s testimonial where Swans fans could look out on the Liberty turf and see vivid memories of past triumphs play out before them once more.
But this was a night all about one man, and it took just five minutes for the familiar strains of ‘We all dream of a team of Alan Tates’ to ring out.
There would be many further renditions throughout the night.
Fittingly, a healthy crowd enjoyed this trip down memory lane.
One passage of play in the opening minutes saw an exchange of passes between Tate, Garry Monk, Leon Britton, Roberto Martinez and Lee Trundle.
It was a list of names to leave any Swans fan who experienced the remarkable rise from the foot of League Two to the heights of the Premier League misty-eyed.
True, some of the waistlines were fuller than they were not so long ago, the tempo of proceedings understandably appreciably slower.
But, as Tate himself had wished, this was a wonderful celebration of a period in the club’s history that will be ranked as a ‘golden age’.
There were three players on show here in Tate, Britton and Monk, who had played for Swansea in all four divisions of the top echelon of English football. Some clubs will rarely have a single player fitting that description, the fact that Swansea had three during such a relatively short period serves as an illustration of the journey the club, and Tate himself, have been on.
The main man was given a superb reception as he strode onto the playing surface in the colours he wore with such distinction more than 350 times.
The two sides formed a guard of honour as the former defender – and emergency goalkeeper – emerged accompanied by his two young children to soak up the applause and ovation before being presented with a commemorative trophy by former manager Brian Flynn, who shared the dugout with Brendan Rodgers.
Even in retirement old habits die hard and, after just a few minutes, it caught the eye to see Tate, as he had done so often in his playing career, cajoling and organising team-mates, holding the defensive line.
Trundle produced his array of tricks, with one superb bit of control seeing him trap the ball on his knee and hold it there to the delight of those in the stands.
Indeed, his link-up with Andy Robinson would have had you briefly believe it was 2007, not 2017.
Tate and Monk relished being reunited in the back four, sharing a joke and a laugh throughout.
There were six goals in total. Dwight Yorke and Danny Webber grabbing a brace apiece with their respective second goals sealing the win despite the best efforts of Roger Freestone during a second-half appearance where he belied his 48 years with several saves of great agility.
Swansea had twice levelled, Robinson with a sublime cheeky chip over Kevin Pilkington from Mark Gower’s through ball, and Sam Ricketts with a finish any full-back would be proud of following a strong run from ‘the Flying Postman’ John Williams.
But this was not about the result, or performances. Swans fans will have plenty of those to digest and reflect on over the coming months.
This was about celebrating a proud, loyal and committed member of the Swansea family. A man of Murton in east Durham who by his own words has come to regard a corner of south Wales as home.
It says all you need to know about Tate that some of the proceeds from this fixture will go towards grassroots football and regeneration projects in the North-East and Swansea.
Tate has always played down his own abilities, simply viewing himself as a man who got there on graft and an ability to read the game.
But no Swansea supporters would believe that for a second, that’s why they still dream of a team of Alan Tates.. Swansea City Legends: Gerhard Tremmel; Angel Rangel, Alan Tate, Garry Monk, Sam Ricketts; Mark Gower, Leon Britton; Roberto Martinez, Adrian Forbes, Andy Robinson; Lee Trundle Subs: Roger Freestone, John Williams, Alan Curtis, James Thomas, Ferrie Bodde, Kris O’Leary, Andy Upperton, Paul Milner. Manchester United Legends: Kevin Pilkington; Denis Irwin, Karl Monroe, Wes Brown, Quinton Fortune; Chris Eagles, Clayton Blackmore, Ben Thornley, Danny Webber; Dwight Yorke, Erik Nevland. Subs: Alan Tate, Russell Beardsmore, Andy Ritchie, Darren Fletcher, Alex Lang.