Leicester quoted staggering £40m if Craig Shakespeare wants to snap-up Swansea star Gylfi Sigurdsson
Foxes will have to fork out huge fee to even tempt Swans into talks as they look for Riyad Mahrez's replacement
LEICESTER will have to pay at least £40million to tempt Swansea into even discussing a potential deal for star man Gylfi Sigurdsson.
The Foxes are one of several clubs considering making a move for the Iceland international.
They face competition from Everton and his former employers Tottenham for the 27-year-old.
However, the claim that the Swans are determined to hang on to their talisman and only a staggering would even tempt into considering allowing him to leave.
Sigurdsson was the second highest assist maker in the Premier League last season, despite his side struggling to beat the drop.
He also grabbed nine goals and his dead-ball specialities make him a key man for Paul Clement’s outfit.
Swansea’s American owners are under no pressure to sell and are the ones who have slapped the huge price tag on his head.
And even if a bid of £40m was forthcoming, there is still no guarantee that they would accept it – especially if the playmaker indicates he is happy to stay at the Liberty Stadium.
Steven Kaplan, one of the entrepreneurs in charge of the US consortium running Swansea, is confident Sigurdsson will stay.
"There's been interest in him before – there were some pretty big enquiries about him last summer and in the January window – but we didn't want to sell him then and we don't want to sell him now."
Sigurdsson, who is currently on holiday in the Hawaiian Islands, penned a new and improved four-year contract with Swansea last summer to become the highest earner on their books.
That contract was designed to fend off interest from other clubs, but Sigurdsson could indicate that he wishes to assess his options – therefore persuading the Welsh club to accept a mega offer.
Leicester want the ace to replace Riyad Mahrez as their main architect in attack.
The Algerian has asked to leave the club and the latest reports suggest that he could be about to swap the King Power for Arsenal.