Everton manager Ronald Koeman is lining up a £25 million bid for Gylfi Sigurdsson as the club accelerate their search for new signings.
Koeman will make a substantial offer for the Iceland international after the appointment of Steve Walsh as director of football was confirmed on Thursday.
Sigurdsson has been a target for both Koeman and Walsh at their former clubs and Everton have identified the Swansea midfielder as a marquee signing this summer.
The 26-year-old impressed at Euro 2016 as Iceland reached the quarter-finals in their first major tournament, starting all the games, and Swansea are now facing a huge challenge to keep him at the Liberty Stadium.
Signed from Tottenham Hotspur in July 2014, Sigurdsson has been one of Swansea’s most consistent players and Koeman will step up his long-term interest with an official bid.
Everton’s appointment of Walsh means Koeman will kick-start his recruitment drive after a quiet summer which has seen only Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg move to Goodison Park so far.
As first reported by Telegraph Sport, Walsh was targeted by Everton after an ambitious move for Sevilla’s transfer guru Monchi fell through and leaves Leicester less than two months after signing a new contract with the Premier League champions.
After playing a key role in the discoveries of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante, Everton hope Walsh will help take the club into a new era under owner Farhad Moshiri.
Koeman said: “It’s really good for the club to have someone in Steve who has shown his quality in his job at a number of clubs over many years.
It is believed Everton paid around £2 million in compensation to land Walsh, who has also worked at Chelsea and Hull City.