Everton round-up: Swansea push for resolution to Sigurdsson saga; veteran midfielder could leave

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The Gylfi Sigurdsson transfer saga has dominated Everton transfer headlines for some time, and now the season is underway it seems that negotiations are beyond the point of testing patience within the Swansea camp.

Swansea boss Paul Clement broke silence ahead of the opening day of Premier League action over current developments to do with the deal, speaking in a pre-match press conference before the Swans’ goal-less draw at Southampton.

“I’m not going to speak about incoming players, the only situation that’s important is the Sigurdsson situation”, said Clement, as quoted by Wales Online.

“If that deal goes through then we can speak about other players. Nothing’s going to be certain until the Sigurdsson deal is certain”, he continued.

“There’s a difference on opinion in the valuation of the player but I don’t think a deal is far off.”

Speaking at an Everton press conference prior to the Toffees’ victory over Stoke City, Koeman offered his own take on the current state of affairs related to the deal, admitting it remains ‘close’ to being completed but that the club are hopeful it will be over the line soon.

Unlike their Welsh counterparts, however, they are willing to bide their time over finalising the deal with just over a fortnight of the summer transfer window still remaining. Footage from the press conference is also available through Wales Online.

“It’s still close”, Koeman explained. “It hasn’t changed because I read some rumours about the talks breaking down or whatever. We’re still in negotiations with Swansea.

“Yes, I’ve read Paul Clement’s comments and everybody would like some news about what’s going on, but the window is difficult and it’s always a game between the selling and the buying club. But it’s close and we hope to get it done. We’re not in a hurry but we hope to do the deal.”

Meanwhile, Koeman has also admitted that experienced midfielder Gareth Barry may be allowed to leave Everton if the right club comes calling before the end of August, despite the fact that the Dutchman is keen to keep the former England international as part of his squad.

Barry missed Everton’s curtain raiser for the new season against Stoke with an ankle problem, and he is set to hold talks over his future at Goodison Park since the arrivals on Merseyside over the summer no longer guarantee him a first-team spot, coupled with the fact that a number of clubs have been linked to the former Aston Villa and Manchester City man according to the Liverpool Echo.

“Gareth is a great professional and I’m happy if he will stay, but if he’d like to move, OK, we will see what happens. I don’t know”, Koeman told the Echo when quizzed over the midfielder.

“At the moment we don’t have to make that decision. If players are unhappy? Well, it depends”.