Chelsea ‘to return’ for Granit Xhaka as Sunderland hold firm | OneFootball

Chelsea’s pursuit of Granit Xhaka has met firm resistance, with Sunderland rejecting an opening offer and reiterating their captain is not for sale.

Xhaka is under contract until 2028 after a £17m switch from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, and he led the side to seventh and Europa League qualification. The opening bid, about £8m, drew criticism.

BBC Sport reports that any deal for the 33-year-old would represent a radical shift from Chelsea’s recent policy, noting they have fielded the Premier League’s youngest team for two seasons and not selected a player aged 30 or over.

Fabrizio Romano claims Chelsea are preparing a fresh approach after the initial rejection, adding Sunderland are not under pressure to sell but the player wants to join and reunite with Xabi Alonso.

Football.london labelled the first offer embarrassing and argued a fee above £20m would be reasonable given Xhaka’s impact and Sunderland finishing above Chelsea last season, also citing recent midfield deals as benchmarks.

TalkSPORT says Sunderland believe Xhaka is trying to orchestrate an exit and that the club are unhappy with the situation.

The Athletic reports Chelsea considered their proposal fair because Xhaka turns 34 in September, but Sunderland dismissed it immediately and viewed it as disrespectful. Whether Chelsea test that stance again remains to be seen.

Source: Sunderland Echo