Get the latest Swans news sent straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Swansea City face their toughest fight yet to keep hold of Wales skipper Ashley Williams amid frenzied speculation of a £10million Everton swoop.

The 31-year-old defensive rock of club and country woke up on Sunday morning to reports that the deal had been done already to take him from South Wales to Goodison Park.

After talking to sources close to the player and the Swans, our understanding is that there has been no official bid yet, let alone a fee agreed.

However, there is genuine Everton interest in Williams, with new Toffees boss Ronald Koeman seemingly resigned to losing his star defender John Stones to Manchester City for £50m.

Koeman wants to immediately re-invest £10m of that windfall to land Williams, who could expect a sizeable increase on his reported £2m Swans’ salary by moving to Merseyside.

Previous attempts by other Premier League clubs to lure Williams away from the Liberty Stadium have always been knocked back by either the Swans or the player himself.

However, on this occasion our sources suggest the two parties may each see value in a parting of the ways.

For Williams, it represents the last opportunity to join a really big club, with ambitious Everton expected to target a top four finish under highly-rated Koeman this season.

It could also represent sound business sense for the Swans, given they could net £10m for a player who celebrates his 32nd birthday in a few days’ time and whose current deal takes him up to his 34th year.

(Image: Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

The chance of landing that sizeable fee needs to be balanced against how much it could cost to replace Williams’ defensive expertise and leadership in the Swans dressing room, whilst also taking into account the player’s own wishes.

Williams, recently dubbed Wales’ Captain Marvel by Gareth Bale during the march to the Euro 2016 semi-finals, has been linked with a host of clubs down the years after establishing himself as one of the most dependable centre-backs in the Premier League.

Arsenal and Liverpool were amongst the big guns expected to make a significant move, but for whatever reasons bids failed to materialise that matched the Swans’ valuation of their captain and star defender.

Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Hull are amongst others who wanted Williams, but were knocked back.

However, this time it does appear Williams would be open to the prospect of joining a club of the size and tradition of Everton and a move away from the Liberty Stadium, where he has given eight years of stellar service.

Williams has been on holiday since leading Wales to the Euro semi-finals but is due to report back for duty on Wednesday.

However, Swans manager Francesco Guidolin admitted he was uncertain about his skipper’s future, bemoaning the fact that the transfer window is dragging on.

“Ashley is very important to us and I don’t know what the situation is,”” said Guidolin after his side’s 4-0 pre-season win at Wolves.

Everton assistant manager Erwin Koeman heightened the Williams speculation by saying there would be activity in the transfer market this week.

“Ronald and the chairman are very busy with that,” he said.