Leon Osman on Gylfi Sigurdsson pursuit: ‘Everton have got money to spend after selling Romelu Lukaku…spend it!’
Everton hero Leon Osman has urged the club to pay up Swansea’s £50million asking price for Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Toffees boss Ronald Koeman is keen on landing the 27-year-old playmaker this summer as he looks to continue his squad overhaul.
The Merseysiders have signed seven players so far this summer, spending big on the likes of Jordan Pickford [£30m from Sunderland], Michael Keane [£30m from Burnley] and Davy Klaassen [£24m from Ajax] while sealing the return of Wayne Rooney on a free transfer.
Sigurdsson is next on Koeman’s list, although they are yet to reach an agreement over a price with Swansea, with the Welsh side recently rejecing a second bid of £45m from Everton.
And, after banking £75m from the sale of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, Osman insists they can afford to spend an extra £5m to wrap up a deal for the influential Icelandic attacker.
Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the former Toffees midfielder said: “Sigurdsson’s price tag has become so much because Everton received so much for Lukaku. Swansea have seen Everton have got so much money in the coffers now and the price tag has been inflated.
“But I think once Everton offered £45m, it’s such an incredible amount that the £5m more won’t really be too much of a problem for them.
“I do think Everton will get him. It seems Koeman really wants him. £45million is an incredible offer and I think Everton will stretch that extra bit.
“I’ll be delighted to see him in a blue shirt.”
While many are baulking at Swansea’s hefty asking price, Osman concedes the valuation of their key man is to be expected after defenders Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy both recently joined Manchester City for around £50m each.
“Traditionally, the big money has always been paid for the more attacking and creative players, the players who light the game up rather than the defensive players who destroy the game,” he added.
“We’re talking now about £50m for centre-backs and full-backs, so that’s only going to raise the price of the game changers.”
If Sigurdsson does pull on a blue shirt, where does that leave Ross Barkley?
The midfielder’s future at Goodison Park is shrouded by uncertainty as he enters the final year of his contract. The 23-year-old is yet to agree a new deal at his boyhood club and Koeman has made it clear he is free to leave if he does not see his future at Everton.
On how Sigurdsson’s potential arrival could affect the England youngster, Osman added: “I think it just gives the manager great options. I’m not sure how he would fit all the midfield players in, that’s a decision for him to make.
“But Ross Barkley has got less than a year left on his contract and I understand that it’s completely his choice whether he stays or goes. What the manager has got to do now is prepare for time without him, if he does go, and Sigurdsson would be a great signing for the club.”