Why Chelsea want Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka, at the right price | OneFootball

Chelsea have lodged an £eight million bid for Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka, signalling a tilt towards experience and Xabi Alonso’s influence. Sunderland rejected it, say he is not for sale, and any deal remains far from agreed.

Alonso, who thrived with Xhaka at Bayer Leverkusen, is driving the pursuit. According to NY Times, Chelsea still hope to sign him this summer.

Xhaka turns 34 in September and would be Chelsea’s oldest signing since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 33 in 2022. BlueCo have mostly avoided older recruits since, moving on Aubameyang and Kalidou Koulibaly, with Tosin Adarabioyo, 26, the only over-25 addition in 2024.

The football case is strong, particularly for a 3-4-2-1, with Xhaka dictating tempo and releasing wing-backs, as at Leverkusen. For Sunderland in 2025-26 he supplied four set-piece assists, led central or defensive midfielders with six three-line breakers, and logged 32 two-line passes, behind only Elliot Anderson.

His presence could steady a youthful Chelsea who have racked up the most yellow and red cards in each of the last two Premier League seasons. His last red card was in January 2022 and he later helped reset Leverkusen’s dressing-room dynamics in an unbeaten title season.

Sunderland paid up to £17.5 million in 2025 and he captained them to seventh and a first European berth in 53 years. Fees for 33-year-olds rarely exceed £12 million, with Claudio Bravo at £15.4 million the outlier, and any higher price carries contract risk given wages of about £140,000 a week to June 2028.

Source: NY Times