Sport
Swansea can still progress even if Sigurdsson is sold
Everyone has a different take on which transfer deal from this summer has most perfectly represented the crazy inflation in the current market. Some will say it is Jordan Pickford’s £30million move from Sunderland to Everton, others Marko Arnautovic joining West Ham from Stoke City for £25million. As great a player as Neymar is, it is hard to comprehend his switch from Barcelona to Paris Saint- Germain for nearly £200million.
But what may just sum it up best is not yet completed, but rather Swansea City asking for £50million for their star man, Gylfi Sigurdsson, and the general consensus being that it could be about right. The Icelandic international is a fantastic player, of that there can be no doubting, proving he can carry the team as he did last season. Paul Clement was the mastermind behind Swansea’s successful battle against relegation last year, replacing Bob Bradley in January with the club staring into the abyss, but Sigurdsson was the catalyst.
Speculation linking him with a move to Everton persists, creating an annoyingly negative backdrop for Clement as he plans for his first full campaign in charge, which starts with a trip to Southampton on Saturday. He has not featured much in pre-season if at all; Clement is taking an honest approach, moving the team on in the event of his departure, admitting that will come at the right price.
Crucially, Everton don’t seem put off by the mammoth price tag on Sigurdsson’s head; while they may not want to pay that much per se, they appear more than happy to negotiate. The best price is all Swansea can hope for, but in Clement, they have the ideal man to reinvest that money and take them to the next level.
There is something about him, perhaps that he has made it to the top level of coaching without any playing career at all, let alone even a modest one. The assumption is his intelligence and knowledge of football is enough to negate his failure to make it as a player. Like Jose Mourinho with Sir Bobby Robson, he proved himself enough to Carlo Ancelotti, so much so that he became the Italian’s right-hand man at Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Within that illustrious career path, he broke away to become the main man at Derby County but was sacked rather harshly less than a year into the job. Now, he has a point to prove.
What has made Swansea such a well-liked club is their propensity to take risks in the name of their identity. Since 2007, the likes of Roberto Martinez, Paulo Sousa, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup have all brought with them their own interpretation of a possession-based style. Hiring Bradley perhaps took them away from that after an American takeover, almost certainly to their own detriment, but Clement appears to have returned the status quo, at least in part.
But planning for life without Sigurdsson has been the biggest test of his managerial mettle to date. English players are said to be at a premium, but in reality, that stretches to proven Premier League talent. Having developed in the system at Reading, Sigurdsson showed what he could do on loan at Swansea from Hoffenheim under Rodgers before barely getting a chance at Spurs; his game has hit new heights since his return to the Liberty Stadium, though. Clement has a contact book full of options to call upon if he were to directly replace Sigurdsson, but having signed Roque Mesa, a cultured and experienced midfielder who should thrive in South Wales, from Las Palmas, and with Tom Carroll already on the books, perhaps the contingency plan is in place.
Yet, Swansea could struggle to get value for money. Despite what some might say, there is still some in the market, particularly abroad, but if clubs know they have a hefty profit from Sigurdsson to burn, they will negotiate that extra bit harder. As the end of the summer market approaches, that is the last thing Clement will want.
Fernando Llorente, Sigurdsson’s partner in crime last season, has also been linked with a move away from the club, but they would be loathed to lose him if Sigurdsson does depart. As more money is spent in the Premier League, it will get tougher to survive; Swansea will be bracing themselves for another long campaign, but they have one of the best young coaches in the country in the dugout.
Calm, self-assured and classy, Paul Clement gives off the impression that he knows exactly what he is doing. It has been levelled at coaches who never played that demanding respect is tough without the shared experience, but having worked with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo and a number of other stars before, and become a popular figure with them, he definitely has the ear of his current crop at Swansea.
If Gyfli Sigurdsson does leave, for Everton or anyone else, it will be a really big ask for Swansea to move on quickly. Luckily, though, they have the perfect man
in charge to make that happen.
