Almeida, 26, is not convinced. The Portuguese midfielder sees a move to the English second tier as a step backwards at this stage of his career and is holding out for something better, even as those around him try to change his mind.
He has previous with this kind of standoff: two years ago he snubbed a €15m approach from Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa and Brighton have both watched him without a move ever materialising. His contract in Mestalla runs until 2029, so there is no urgency on his side to accept a deal he is not fully behind.
Valencia's urgency is a different matter entirely. Corberán has been signalling for months that Almeida is surplus to requirements, even picking Dani Raba ahead of him in the club's most recent warm-up fixture, and the club has already fielded a first official offer from Swansea that it views favourably, reportedly in the region of £7m, with a handful of details still to be resolved before any agreement is finalised.
Roughly €3m of his book value remains to be amortised, adding financial motivation to get a deal done rather than let his contract run down further.
The mismatch between club and player is all the more striking given Almeida signed a new contract barely a year ago, a renewal that surprised plenty of people at the time given Corberán barely used him afterwards.
He joined from Vitória de Guimarães for around €7m in 2022 and has made more than 100 appearances for Valencia in LaLiga and continental competition without ever nailing down a regular starting role, a stretch of inconsistency not helped by a spinal fracture that disrupted his second season.
Restricted to around 1,000 league minutes last season, he is now being shown the door, but the club and Swansea remain at the mercy of a player who simply isn't sold on the move.