Redknapp: Everton 23-year-old should leave for £25m, this ‘great’ player is ideal replacement
By Harry Sykes
High-profile pundit Jamie Redknapp has insisted in the Mail that Gylfi Sigurdsson would be the perfect replacement for Ross Barkley this summer.
The future of the playmaker, 23, is in the balance at Everton and manager Ronald Koeman made it clear last week that his patience is running thin.
Koeman instructed Barkley to tell the club by the end of this week whether he intends to accept their contract offer or leave during the summer window,
The Goodison Park academy product has only 12 months remaining on his current deal and this summer represents the Merseyside club’s last opportunity to get a sizeable fee for him.
Redknapp is increasingly convinced that the coming window is the time to cash in and source a proven replacement whose statistics more than measure up.
“I’ve been impressed with how Ronald Koeman has handled the situation with Ross Barkley’s contract,” Redknapp wrote in his weekly Mail column.
“He has been up front in giving Barkley an ultimatum and if the midfielder does not want to sign, Everton should be ready to cash in.
“Even though Barkley is entering the final year of his contract, Everton should still expect to get £25million for him.
“Gylfi Sigurdsson would be the perfect replacement. Sigurdsson has great vision, assisting 13 goals for Swansea this season — five more than Barkley and second only to Kevin De Bruyne, who has 15.
“Six of his assists have been for Fernando Llorente, making the pair the League’s most lethal duo. Sigurdsson should be playing for a top team.”
The Iceland international, 27, has been a mainstay of the Swansea side that avoided relegation when Hull were hammered 4-0 by Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Since joining the Welsh side from Tottenham in 2014, he has scored 37 goals and supplied 30 assists from 130 matches in all competitions.
In other Everton transfer news, Newcastle have hijacked Everton’s move for a coveted 23-year-old, with a £75,000-a-week contract to be offered.
We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Everton breaking news.