Echo: Sigurdsson move edges closer

Gylfi Sigurdsson's proposed move to Liverpool has edged a step closer after Hoffenheim confirmed the midfielder had been granted a fortnight's leave to negotiate his return to England.

The 22-year-old  is keen to link up with new Reds boss Brendan Rodgers, having spent a productive loan spell under the Ulsterman at Swansea City last season.

Sigurdsson was due to begin pre-season training with the rest of the Hoffenheim squad on Monday, but the Bundesliga outfit confirmed that the Icelandic international had been given a "prolonged holiday" until June 30, in which to sort his future out.

A Hoffenheim statement said: "Gylfi Sigurdsson will not be with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for the start of pre-season. He has, after consultation, obtained a prolonged holiday until 30 June.

"The club wants the 22-year-old to continue to secure a future in the Premier League."

Hoffenheim head coach Markus Babbel, himself a former Liverpool player, said: "Gylfi want to stay in England and is in negotiations there. Thus, it makes no sense for both sides, for him to return to Hoffenheim, perhaps only for a few days."

Babbel insisted, however, that Sigurdsson would return to Germany if a deal can not be sorted by June 30.

He added: "If, by the deadline on 30 June, he has done nothing, then he is here and will return to his pre-season with us. We have agreed this with him."

Sigurdsson, who is contracted at Hoffenheim until 2014, had initially agreed a permanent, £6.8m switch to the Liberty Stadium, after scoring seven goals in 19 appearances there last season.

But that move hit the buffers after Rodgers signed a three-year deal to replace Kenny Dalglish at Anfield earlier this month. The two share a close relationship, having worked together at Reading when Sigurdsson was a teenager.

Rodgers has insisted all along that Sigurdsson must honour his word by speaking to Swansea before any other club, and the player himself is understood to have spoken to Michael Laudrup, the new Swans boss, via telephone over the weekend.

And though there is interest from other Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Aston Villa, it is believed Liverpool remains his preferred choice.

The Reds would need to pay around £8m to secure his services, with Swansea having negotiated a lower fee as part of their initial loan arrangement with Hoffenheim.

Source: Liverpool Echo