Ashley Williams is prepared to run his Swansea City contract down and leave on a free transfer if the club will not countenance reasonable offers of around £3m for him this summer, after talks regarding new terms stalled.

The 29-year-old has a year left on his current deal and has become bemused at the lack of progress in agreeing an extension to his six years at the Swans. During that time Williams, as captain, led the club to the 2013 Capital One Cup, the first major honour of their history.

Williams is wanted by Napoli and Lille, while five Premier League clubs are also looking at him. Last year Arsenal were interested in buying Williams but balked at the prospective fee, with Swansea having valued him in the region of £10m.

Brendan Rodgers, the former Swansea manager now in charge of Liverpool, remains an admirer, while Harry Redknapp wants to freshen up his central defensive resources after leading Queens Park Rangers back to the Premier League by winning Saturday’s Championship play-off final.

Although Williams could yet stay on at the Liberty Stadium, the prospect of this occurring is currently remote.