Sunderland Risk Losing Key Star As ‘Catalyst’ Xabi Alonso Eyes Raid | OneFootball

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Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka is wanted by Chelsea, where new Blues boss Xabi Alonso knows and rates the Swiss.

Xhaka moved to Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, hot on the heels of Alonso exiting the BayArena for Real Madrid.

The pair won the Bundesliga together, denting Bayern Munich’s regular dominance of German football.

The Swiss midfielder has been superb for the Black Cats in the Premier League and quickly struck up a rapport with the supporters, who he dubbed ‘real fans’.

Xhaka helped Sunderland remarkably qualify for the Europa League, but now he may not play in the competition for the Black Cats as he is a wanted man.

According to Swiss outlet 4-4-2, Chelsea are interested in taking Xhaka to Stamford Bridge as they seek to ease the pressure on Moises Caicedo.

Alonso, who knows Xhaka from his time as Leverkusen boss, is ‘considered a catalyst for the deal’.

It is suggested that if Xhaka tells Sunderland that he wants to join Chelsea then the Black Cats will reluctantly agree and will want a minimum of €20m to open talks.

Losing Xhaka would be a massive blow for Sunderland, but the lure of a move to Chelsea could be a strong one for the Switzerland international.

It would mean a move to one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, heading back to the capital, and the chance to work with Alonso again.

Xhaka has also been attracting interest from Turkish giants Besiktas, but a move to the Istanbul club would come as a surprise.

Alonso is trying to reshape Chelsea and get them back on track, with Xhaka’s leadership skills likely a major attraction for the Spanish boss.

He failed to make his mark at Real Madrid, ultimately losing his job at the Bernabeu, and will be keen to get his managerial career heading back in the right direction.

Alonso now looks to feel Xhaka could help with that task ahead of a big season for Chelsea.