Five European options for Swansea’s Sigurdsson solution
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Welsh club must replace talisman
Well, it’s finally happened. Swansea have sold Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Iceland international has joined Everton for £45m, leaving the Welsh side with an almighty void to fill.
Sigurdsson was instrumental in keeping Swansea up last season, but Paul Clement’s sole focus will be finding a replacement for the set-piece maestro.
The Swans haven’t got much time, with just a fortnight of the summer transfer window remaining, but Coral’s European football fanatics have compiled their own scouting report.
So here are five men Swansea could turn to…
The realistic targets
Pablo Piatti – Espanyol
Clement will be plenty aware of Pablo Piatti, having crossed paths with the forward during his time in Spain.
Piatti was in fine form last term. Freed from the politics that hindered his time with Valencia, the 28-year-old supplied 11 assists in addition to netting 10 goals himself for Espanyol.
He’s just signed for the Barcelona outfit on a permanent basis, but with a valuation of just £5m who knows what a £15m or £20m bid would do…
Zlatko Junouzovic – Werder Bremen
With 97 assists across the German and Austrian Bundesligas, Zlatko Junuzovic has made a career out of setting up his team-mates.
Last season was no exception, with the 29-year-old supplying 10 goals for his Werder Bremen comrades.
His contract is up next summer however, and having been with Bremen since 2011, perhaps he might fancy a change of scenery.
The dream signings
Morgan Sanson – Marseille
The 22-year-old Morgan Sanson enjoyed his finest year yet last term, producing 14 assists for the French outfit.
He’s one for the future, and with Paris Saint-Germain set to dominate the French scene in the years to come, Sanson may be better off going elsewhere.
A move to the Liberty Stadium is unlikely, but what a coup it would be.
Julian Draxler – Paris Saint-Germain
Having smashed the world-record by signing Neymar from Barcelona for £222m, Paris Saint-Germain need to balance the books.
Reports claim Julian Draxler could be caught up in this, despite PSG only signing the winger from Wolfsburg in January.
It would be a mighty statement for the Swans to bring in the 23-year-old, but the German is remarkably talented.
At Swansea the team could be built around Draxler, and a move to the Premier League could be the ticket to kick-start his career.
Emil Forsberg – Red Bull Leipzig
If it’s statistics you’re after, then Emil Forsberg is the man. The Red Bull Leipzig ace supplied a sensational 22 assists in the Bundesliga last season.
And with several of those coming from set-pieces, he shares Sigurdsson’s dead-ball magic. Leipzig have no need to sell their star man, but if you never ask, then you’ll never get.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
