Swansea City veteran Leon Britton has urged the club to go at lengths to keep Ashley Williams at the Liberty Stadium.

The Welsh International is expected to part ways with the Swans in the summer, with both Arsenal and Liverpool having already made manifest their interest in the experienced defender.

Although Williams very recently denied reports of planning on calling it quits to his Liberty Stadium spell, it has done little to dampen the speculations surrounding his future.

Liverpool appear to be the favourites to run away with his signature as the presence of Brendan Rodgers at Anfield, under whom he played for two years at Swansea, could compel him to sign for the Reds.

Britton, though, expressed hope that Williams will snub interest from the Premier League's big boys, and lavished praise on the 28-year-old over his remarkable 2012/13 season.

He told the reporters: "It's vitally important that we keep someone like Ash.

"He's been fantastic since he joined us and is the captain.

"He's been absolutely brilliant and it's no surprise that he's been linked to Arsenal and Liverpool. That's just testament to the player he is.

"Hopefully we can keep hold of him because as players we would all love him to stay and the supporters would be the same as well. We will see what the summer holds but, hopefully, by the start of August he is still here."

Swansea City's memorable Capital One Cup triumph in February - their first major silverware in 100 years - earned them qualification in next season's Europa League.

Britton cautioned his side of the challenging schedule which lay ahead of them next term, and feels that the owners will need to loosen the purse strings in the summer to land in multiple players in order to keep up at multiple fronts.

He added: "You've seen this season with Newcastle and in the past with Stoke - two teams who have done well in the Europa League but struggled a bit in the Premier League.

"It can take its toll but I'm sure the management and the staff have already put plans in place to bring players in."

Source: Givemefootball.com