Sigurdsson pulls out of Swansea preseason trip as latest Everton bid rejected

It looks like matters have come to a head now between Swansea City and Gylfi Sigurdsson. After an admission from the manager Paul Clement a couple of days ago that the player could be sold, but only if the team's £50m valuation was met, the player pulled out of the Swans preseason USA tour at the last minute.

This news about the player pulling out of the team's trip came soon after the news that Everton had made yet another bid for the player, this time in the £40m range including add-ons, which the Welsh club apparently also rejected.

With matters having reached an impasse, one can't help but feel that a compromise will have to be reached with the two teams meeting somewhere in the middle of the two numbers.

Just yesterday, noted football analyst Ted Knutson lamented in a piece in the Independent about the inflated prices on players in the Premier League this season, claiming that Sigurdsson was nowhere near worth the £50m that the Swans wanted, and indeed not even close to the £40m that the Blues had offered. He went on to mention that the Iceland international had only 4 goals and 5 assists from open play in 38 appearances last season, and any sum in the range described above should be called the 'transfer heist of the century'.

Sigurdsson deciding to pull out of the trip at the last minute in an attempt to force a move is an unfortunate situation that will be sure to lose the player goodwill. No fan likes to see things come to an end like this, with Everton themselves very recently being on the receiving end of a similar strong-arm tactic from Romelu Lukaku as he tried to ensure a transfer.

Speaking of Lukaku, it is quite clear that the Swans are attempting to shake Everton down for every penny they can after the Toffees received a £75m windfall for the Belgian striker's transfer.

At the end of the day, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if Ronald Koeman has decided that the Icelander is the centerpiece of his Everton project, it appears Farhad Moshiri is willing to back the Dutchman to the hilt, no matter the cost.