20th Oct, 2021 | 12:12pm

Sources: Everton to let Sigurdsson go as January replacement lined up

Everton will let Gylfi Sigurdsson go at the end of the season, Football Insider understands.

The playmaker, who turned 32 last month, is out of contract next summer, which will be five years after he joined from Swansea City.

A recruitment source has told Football Insider that Everton have long been planning to let Sigurdsson’s contract run down.

The Iceland international’s exit will free up space on the club’s wage bill for some marquee signings.

Everton are already working on securing a replacement for Sigurdsson and that deal could be done in the upcoming window.

But manager Rafael Benitez will not have a major transfer kitty in January, when, as revealed by Football Insider last week, he will once again have to prioritise free transfers and loans.

The Merseysiders signed five players during the summer but paid only one fee, a cut-price £1.7million for Demarai Gray.

Everton have strived to reduce losses that have totalled almost £265m in the past three financial years.

Premier League rules allow for a £105m loss in a three-year period, although last year’s figures were relaxed because of the pandemic.

Everton were willing to listen to offers for Sigurdsson earlier in the summer window but his £120,000-a-week wages proved a major barrier to a deal.

The attacking midfielder has not made a single appearance for Benitez’s side this season.

He has played 156 matches in total for the club, scoring 31 goals and providing 25 assists.

Everton paid Swansea a club-record £45million for Sigurdsson in the summer of 2017.

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