Former Switzerland coach frustrated as Granit Xhaka to Chelsea talk overshadows World Cup focus | OneFootball

Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka is attracting interest from Chelsea, and a former Switzerland player and coach has voiced frustration that the transfer chatter is intruding on World Cup preparations.

According to Sunderland Echo, new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso would like to reunite with Xhaka, and Sunderland are said to have rejected an £8m bid over the weekend.

Xhaka left Arsenal for Bayer Leverkusen in 2023, starred as Xabi Alonso’s side went unbeaten to win the Bundesliga, then scored the only goal in the German Cup final against FC Kaiserslautern. Their treble bid ended with defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League final.

After one further season in Germany, he joined Sunderland last summer. His leadership under Regis Le Bris helped deliver seventh place and Europa League qualification in his first year on Wearside.

Sunderland remain adamant their captain is not for sale at any price.

“What bothers me is that these things are happening during the World Cup. Granit is very focused and can block that out, but we should be talking about the upcoming opponent, Algeria, not Chelsea. I’m not interested in what Granit does after the World Cup right now. Chelsea aren’t just any club. And if I were Xabi Alonso and had the opportunity to sign Granit Xhaka, I would do it.”

The remarks were made on Blick’s Forza podcast.

Source: Sunderland Echo