Sunderland reveal new Granit Xhaka transfer stance after talks with Chelsea | OneFootball

Blues dealt transfer blow as Xabi Alonso learns fate of potential reunion with former player

While Sunderland felt Chelsea’s £8million offer last week to buy the Swiss international was disrespectful and undervalued the player, Chelsea’s interest in the influential 33-year-old midfielder remains.

Chelsea had taken Xhaka’s age and the fact he has two years remaining on his contract into consideration when making the bid.

Interest in Xhaka from Chelsea took Sunderland by surprise initially and came directly from manager Xabi Alonso, who made Xhaka a key player within his Bayer Leverkusen team that stunned Bayern Munich to win the Bundesliga in 2024 during an unbeaten domestic season in which they also reached the Europa League.

No reunion: Granit Xhaka and Xabi Alonso

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Chelsea retain a certain amount of hope that the situation might be retrievable, even though Sunderland have maintained throughout that Xhaka is strictly not for sale.

Targeting Xhaka signifies a change in transfer direction from Chelsea, which had been anticipated this summer.

Since the club’s 2022 takeover by BlueCo, they have signed young players almost exclusively.

However, internal discussions at Chelsea throughout the season saw the club’s hierarchy reach the conclusion that a greater level of leadership is needed within the squad.