Ipswich Town, Coventry City and Brighton fired Zan Vipotnik 'proper money' warning | OneFootball

The Swansea boss has insisted that the Championship's top scorer wants to stay in South Wales

Swansea City's Zan Viptonik made it 20 goals for the Championship campaign with his brace against Middlesbrough on Easter Monday.

The two first half penalties took his brace count to four for the season and ensured that the Swans remained unbeaten across a difficult Bank Holiday double header, after also drawing against Sheffield United on Good Friday.

However, the performance will only serve to stoke the already red-hot interest in the Slovenian frontman, who is expected to be one of the transfer stories of the upcoming summer window.

Despite steady improvements under Vitor Matos since the Portuguese boss came to South Wales in late November, this season will mark the fifth consecutive one in which Swansea will fail to finish inside the play-offs in the second tier.

And with someone of Vipotnik's quality leading the line, there's no doubt that Premier League clubs will be interested. Recent reports are suggesting that Brighton and Hove Albion lead the race currently, but as many as six other top-flight sides have scouted him, plus current Championship top two Coventry City and Ipswich Town.

But, if it's up to the Swansea boss, there won't be a race to win this coming off-season.

Vitor Matos outlines Zan Vipotnik's summer transfer plans

After retaining his services throughout the January window, Swansea have worked to secure Vipotnik's long-term future, handing him a new contract until 2030 in March.

And, per Wales Online, Swans boss Vitor Matos has suggested that the new contract isn't to maximise the fee the club can bring in this summer, but instead to ensure that he remains in South Wales past the end of the campaign.

"There's nothing you can do to control the market," he said when asked about the incoming interest for the 24-year-old. "What you can do is improve the player. Offering the best contract possible that allows him to be happy here.

"Treating him with care and professionalism, and his family. That's what we offer. That's what we want.

"He knows our project. He knows what we want for us as a club for the future. He wants to be a part of that. If he didn't, he would not have signed [the new contract].

"Of course, like all the clubs in football, there's always a market, and there's always a market that can come. The good thing is, they need to come with proper money."

Whatever "proper money" is, it is yet to be known. Swansea slapped a £15 million price tag on Viptonik this past January in the midst of interest from sides in the Premier League and Serie A, so perhaps the Swans could be holding out for as much as £20 million.

Either way, the South Wales outfit isn't prepared to let the 24-year-old leave for anything less than what would be a record fee, since they dropped back into the Championship at least, and they hold all the cards on making that happen after he signed a new long-term deal.

Keeping Zan Vipotnik would be a real sign of intent from Swansea City

With a couple of extra play-off spots up for grabs, Swansea, who have finished inside the top 10 in just one of the last four seasons, will be looking to become one of those sides who could viably squeeze into the top eight next year.

Having someone with the goalscoring ability of Vipotnik leading the line would instantly give them a fighting chance of doing so.

The business side of football would look at the prospect of flipping someone who arrived for free from Bordeaux a little under two years ago for a hefty eight-figure fee as something they cannot turn down, and it would allow the Swans to retool and improve in multiple positions ahead of next year.

But Swansea