Swansea City head coach Paul Clement has insisted that he intends to keep Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurdsson at the club this month, reports The Mirror.
What's the word?
Chelsea are believed to be keen to sign Llorente, while Everton have reportedly revived their interest in Sigurdsson after failing to land him in the summer.
Antonio Conte has Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi as his striker options at Chelsea, but it appears as though the Italian coach wants more support in that area.
Llorente joined the Swans from Sevilla last summer and has scored six Premier League goals in 17 Premier League appearances.
As for Sigurdsson, he has become an influential player at Swansea player since his switch from Tottenham Hotspur in 2014.
The midfielder has featured in every single league game so far this season, and has also contributed with five goals and six assists.
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Clement, who took on the Swansea job on January 3, was asked about the pair's futures and made it clear that he wants both to stay put.
He is quoted by The Mirror as saying: “I want to keep Gylfi here. He’s similar to Llorente. We’re in a situation where we want to win games and you’ve got to keep your best players to do that.
“I’ve enjoyed working with them already, they appear to be very motivated, focused on what we need to do to move this team forward.”
Why Swansea must not sell.
Letting first-team players leave the club during a relegation battle is never a wise thing to do.
The club currently sit second from bottom, one point from safety in the top flight, and the next few months are expected to be a hard slog for Clement and his men.
Taking out a goalscorer and an influential midfielder would only hamper their chances of survival.
Not only that, a move away could prove detrimental to the players, mainly Llorente.
It is highly unlikely that the Spaniard would be handed a regular starting spot by Chelsea, particularly with the prolific form that the league's leading scorer Costa is in.
Even though Llorente has not set the world alight, it would be best for him to finish the season at Swansea, and depending on which league they end up in, reassess his options.
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