:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/34113891/456837523.0.jpg)
Ashley Williams' agent has challenged Swansea City to sort out the impasse over his client's future by either paying him what he is worth or risk losing him for free.
Sunderland lodged a bid for the defender last week - believed to be in the region of £4m - but have not yet received a response from the South Wales club. That has seemingly prompted his agent, Jamie Moralee, to go on the offensive. He told the BBC:
Ash has only got one year left on his contract, so clubs will look at that.
If a new contract is not agreed or they don't accept one of the bids, Swansea could risk losing him for nothing.
A bid has been made but nothing's been accepted or rejected yet - something has got to give.
There are two or three clubs interested in Ash, and they must be confident in their ability to compete financially and be up there with Swansea in their offer for him.
If Ash's contract does run down, it won't just be Sunderland interested. That will alert a lot of big clubs.
Swansea hold the aces with Ash because they can keep him and give him a new contract, or they can sell him.
Ash has to look for a contract that's right for him. He came to football relatively late and, as he's turning 30 this year, he needs a contract that can take him to 33 or 34.
He has to look out for himself and his family - football is like any other business.
I can remember Jamie Moralee playing up front for Watford and Millwall in the 1990s and he was a lot subtler a player as he seemingly is here. He couldn't be making the Williams situation more clear if he tried.
Seems Williams is after a 3 or 4 year contract and one last big pay day of his career, and Swansea currently aren't meeting those demands.
Whether Sunderland will either, we can't say, but it isn't really conceivable that in this day and age a club will make a blind approach without first doing significant homework as to whether the player is interested and what it would take to get him.
It all seems to be going a little bitter between Williams and Swansea. Let's hope that can be to Sunderland's advantage.
