Swansea City have slapped a £40m price-tag on the head of assist-king Gylfi Sigurdsson, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The newspaper claim that Everton are set to renew their interest in the Iceland playmaker this summer after seeing a previous approach rebuffed by the Swans, but must stump up a club record fee to land their man.
Sigurdsson has been arguably the most consistent and most reliable performer at the Liberty Stadium for a number of years, where he has contributed 37 goals and 30 assists from 131 appearances in all competitions.
But the 27-year-old faces as uncertain future at the club as Swansea have repeatedly been drawn into a relegation battle in the Premier League of late, and he could jump ship to progress his career.
Everton are one of a host of sides looking to take advantage of the Welsh club’s continued struggles, but they must meet Swansea’s £4omillion demands if they are to stand any chance of striking a deal.
The Sun had earlier claimed that Leicester and Tottenham were also fronting the queue for his signature, although it was further reported that the Foxes were lining up a deal worth just £30million.
But Swansea’s reluctance to see Sigurdsson leave the club this summer has seen them raise their valuation of the player to a level where Everton, Leicester and Tottenham would all need to break their transfer records.
The Toffees have already flexed their financial muscle in the summer market, having acquired Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for £30million, and Ajax star Davy Klaassen for a further £23.6million.
However, Ronald Koeman is likely to continue to splash the cash on fresh talent in the coming months as he seeks to build a side capable of challenging in Europe and at the top of the Premier League.