Chelsea plan €30m offer for Sunderland midfielder after express request from Xabi Alonso – journalist | OneFootball

Chelsea are planning to make an offer for Granit Xhaka after Xabi Alonso urged the Blues’ owners, BlueCo, to get a deal done for the Sunderland midfielder, according to a report.

Alonso, who will officially become the new Chelsea manager on July 1, worked with Xhaka at Bayer Leverkusen.

The duo won the Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal in the 2023/24 campaign and also reached the final of the Europa League that same season.

Xhaka moved to Sunderland from Bayer in the summer of 2025 for a total of £17.3million.

The former Arsenal star was one of the best players in the Premier League last season and was a key figure for Sunderland.

The 33-year-old, who is playing for Switzerland at the 2026 World Cup, made 32 starts and two substitute appearances in the Premier League for the Black Cats last season.

Xhaka scored one goal and registered six assists in those games, as Sunderland finished seventh in the Premier League table and qualified for the 2026/27 Europa League campaign.

The midfielder is under contract at Sunderland until 2028, but Chelsea are planning to get him out of the Stadium of Light this summer.

Chelsea want Sunderland star Granit Xhaka

According to Italian journalist Luca Cerchione, Alonso has personally asked Chelsea to sign Xhaka.

The reporter, who has over 14,000 followers on X and was among the first to break the news about Chelsea’s desire to sign Marco Palestra, has claimed that Chelsea are ready to make an offer of €30million (£26m) for Xhaka.

Cerchione posted on X at 11:22am on June 27: “Chelsea on Granit Xhaka: express request from Xabi Alonso, his former coach at Leverkusen.

“Blues’ first offer: 30 million euros.”

This is not the first time that Xhaka has been linked with a move away from Sunderland.

Back in May, Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel urged the Red Devils to sign Xhaka.

Schmeichel said about Man Utd and Xhaka on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast: “I think we should go and sign Xhaka.

“I make my case, what we are going to do is build the team around Kobbie, right.

“Now, Casemiro is leaving. Now you bring in somebody like Wharton, Anderson whatever… that’s still young, that’s still untried.

“What we need and what we don’t really have apart from Harry and Bruno in that team is proper leadership.

“When I look at what Xhaka’s done for Sunderland, Xhaka is the reason they are where they are.

“He has been absolutely amazing, his leadership qualities are great, he can play 80 per cent of the games, he’s a really good player.

“We’re desperate for more leadership.”

Butt responded: “Xhaka would come in and go I’m not playing every game, but he would bring a lot to the squad.”