Everton have agreed a £45 million deal with Swansea City to sign Iceland international Gylfi Sigurdsson.
The 27 year old creative midfielder is set to have a medical with the Toffees on Wednesday. The deal sees Koeman look to add creative depth to his midfield amidst persistent rumours surrounding the future of Ross Barkley at the club.
Sigurdsson scored nine and assisted thirteen goals last season helping Paul Clement’s side survive a testing relegation battle. Everton’s bid bettered Premier League rivals Leicester, who bid £40 million in July.
Everton have improved their initial bid in a final attempt to acquire one of their main summer targets. Swansea’s most prolific creator did not feature in their 0-0 draw with Southampton on the opening day of the season and also missed the clubs pre-season fixtures due to transfer speculation.
Everton’s accepted bid will make him their eighth summer signing. Sigurdsson’s creativity and work rate in the midfield will add further depth and diversity to their squad and will surely make him a prominent figure in Everton’s challenge for a top four finish this season.
Sigurdsson now makes his third move in the Premier League having signed for Spurs in between his two spells at Swansea. The midfielder is likely to start against Manchester City on Monday if the clubs are able to agree on a deal this week.
Former England midfielder Gareth Barry has left the Blues joining West Brom for an undisclosed fee. The defensive player has ended a fruitful four year spell at Goodison to join Albion on a one-year deal.
He looks to replace Darren Fletcher, who joined Stoke City earlier in the transfer window. Barry is just 5 Premier League appearances away from passing record-holder Ryan Giggs’ 632 appearances.
Gareth Barry appeared to have fallen out of favour since the shake up at Everton with the signings of Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin. He will now look to regain a first team place with Albion.
The signing dwarfs Everton’s former transfer record of £30 million for promising goalkeeper Jordan Pickford earlier in this window. Prior to that, the record was £28 million for Romelu Lukaku.
Written by Dom Holt.
