Leicester City have hijacked Everton’s pursuit of Swansea City attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, according to BBC Sport.
The media outlet has revealed on their website that former Premier League winners, Leicester, have tabled a mammoth bid of £40million for the 27-year-old.
BBC Sport claim that the Swans rejected Leicester’s offer and the club have now slapped a £50million price tag on the Sigurdsson.
It is said that Everton are long-term admirers of the versatile playmaker, and are interested in recruiting the Iceland international over the summer.
The report comes after a story in the Daily Mail claimed that Sigurdsson’s current club told Toffees boss Ronald Koeman that he must pay £45 million for the attacking ace.
Sigurdsson rejoined Swansea on a permanent basis from fellow Premier League side Tottenham in 2014 in a deal worth just under £9 million, and is contracted to the Welsh club for another three years until 2020.
The Icelandic playmaker made a total of 40 appearances across all competitions for the Swans last season, where he scored 10 goals and provide a further 13 assists.
He has shown his versatility throughout the season and has played in a number of positions including attacking midfielder, centre-forward, and on both the left and right wings.
In addition, the 27-year-old proved his leadership qualities when he captained the Swansea team twice during the previous season against Stoke City and Watford.
Koeman has had a busy transfer season with the Blues so far, and securing Sigurdsson would take the Toffees recruit total up to seven.
The Merseyside boss hasn’t been afraid to spend so far after making Jordan Pickford England’s most expensive keeper in a £30 million deal, and matched the price for centre-back Michael Keane too.
Most recently, Everton announced that Wayne Rooney would be returning to the club after 13 successful years at Manchester United.