XHAKA TO STAY?
- BY HOLDEN CAULFIELD
- Jul 3
- 1 min read
After some intense speculation about his future over the last handful of days, it now appears that Granit Xhaka is set to stay at Sunderland AFC.
It became public knowlegde that Xabi Alonso was a huge admirer of the Swiss international, who captained his Bayer Leverkusen side to an undefeated Bundesliga title win in 2023/24, and the player was also said to be keen on the move.
Chelsea's initial bid of £8m was simply never going to be accepted by Sunderland - for their best player, captain and talisman, who cost pretty much double that a year ago. Chelsea were expected to come in with a slightly higher bid, however the Black Cats have made it clear that Xhaka was never for sale.
Following discussions with SAFC, Xhaka has reaffirmed his commitment to Sunderland and wished to remain on Wearside. Removing the Alonso factor, it seemed like a strange move for the midfielder; We beat Chelsea twice last season, have a bigger stadium than them, finished above them and will be playing European football next season with the Blues missing out. No-brainer really...
