I don’t know if it’s the reputation of Dutch manager Erik ten Hag, as an emotional fish, or a dream of returning to the Premier League that makes Granit Xhaka now have agreed personal terms with Sunderland.
We’re betting the Premier League will tempt the 32-year-old who had a good few years at Arsenal, but the loss of Xabi Alonso as manager is clearly a factor.
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Granit Xhaka’s agent told German media on Tuesday that he has agreed personal terms with the newly promoted Premier League side and wants to return to England.
But after selling Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool, as well as Jonathan Tah to Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga club does not want to lose any more players.
“The agent can say what he wants, but this club has already lost three important players,” Ten Hag said.
“We don’t want to let any more players leave, that’s not possible. That would neglect the structure of the team and also the culture of the squad.”
“It’s clear – Granit is a leader, he signed a five-year contract here and has three years left. He is too important to us to let him go.”
The Swiss player spent seven years in the Premier League with Arsenal before joining Leverkusen in 2023. He helped Leverkusen win the Bundesliga and the German Cup under Xabi Alonso in his debut season, when they also lost the Europa League final to Atalanta.
Ten Hag, who spent over two years at Manchester United before being sacked in October 2024, took over as head coach earlier this summer after Alonso left for Real Madrid.
“We have an agreement with Sunderland, and Granit is motivated for the project. Now it’s a matter of getting Leverkusen to agree to a transfer,” Xhaka’s agent, José Noguera, told Sky Sports.
Xhaka was an Arsenal favourite for seven years before joining Leverkusen for €15 million in the summer of 2023. There, he became a key player in Xabi Alonso’s team, which won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in 2023/24.
But after Alonso accepted the Real Madrid job, Erik ten Hag – who was sacked from Manchester United in May 2024 – was hired as Leverkusen’s new manager.
Sunderland needs experience
Sunderland, who were promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs, see Xhaka as a perfect transfer of experience. But Leverkusen’s price expectation (€25 million according to Transfermarkt) could be a sticking point.
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