Swansea City midfielder Leon Britton has admitted that it would be a "massive blow" to lose Gylfi Sigurdsson this summer.
Sigurdsson has been heavily linked with a move to free-spending Everton during the current transfer window, but the Swans have so far refused to lower their £50m asking price and have rejected bids of £40m from both the Toffees and Leicester City.
The 27-year-old was left out of Swansea's squad for their pre-season tour of the United States and also missed Saturday's 2-0 win over Birmingham City as a result of the uncertainty surrounding his future, and Britton acknowledged that it will be difficult to keep the Iceland international.
"You do live in hope that he will stay. I don't know if it's going to get done. If he does go, it's vitally important to replace him with the same kind of quality. It's a difficult one, it has maybe dragged on longer than a lot of people have expected," Britton told BBC Sport.
"Gylfi wasn't in America, he didn't travel with the squad for Birmingham away. When things like that happen you do think that 'yes, the transfer will happen'. Things do change overnight, maybe Everton move on to another target they think is better value for money, maybe a new target becomes available.
"But it would be a massive blow, you can't deny the influence he had on the team. When you see Gylfi's stats last year you think he would be playing for one of the top-half clubs, he is a big influence at the top end of the pitch. Unfortunately at the kind of club we're at, when the biggest teams come calling it is hard to keep him."
Sigurdsson scored nine goals and set up 13 more in 38 Premier League appearances for Swansea last season.
Barney Corkhill
