Swansea: 'We will not be bullied' into decision over Sigurdsson

Swansea City's majority shareholders refuse to be intimidated.

In a statement issued on behalf of Stephen Kaplan and Jason Levien, who own 68 percent of Swansea, the owners said they "will not be bullied" into a decision over Gylfi Sigurdsson until a club meets the Swans' valuation of the Icelandic attacker, and declared that any agreement between a suitor and the footballer would be "in contravention of Premier League legislation."

BBC Wales Sport's Dafydd Pritchard reported that Swansea set Sigurdsson's price tag at £50 million, while the Guardian's Stuart James reported that Everton is closing in on the Nordic player after the Welsh club rejected an offer in the region of £40 million. The product of Reading reportedly wants to move to Goodison Park.

"We are disappointed Gylfi has taken the decision not to join his teammates in America where they are working with the coaching staff to prepare for the upcoming season," the statement read, according to the Guardian's Andy Hunter. "At this time we have not received an offer from any club which represents a fair valuation of Gylfi given his importance to our club.

"As we have stated, we will not be bullied or forced into a decision until a club meets our valuation of the player, no matter whether they believe they have an agreement with the player. Any such agreement would obviously be in contravention of Premier League legislation. We have the ultimate respect for Gylfi as a person and a player and we are optimistic that he will reconsider his decision and join his teammates."

Sigurdsson didn't travel with Swansea's squad for the Swans' pre-season tour of North America, as he "did not feel in the right frame of mind" because of the "uncertainty over his future."

No player covered more distance than Sigurdsson in the Premier League last season.