An injury update on Sunderland defender Omar Alderete
Sunderland completed a deal for Granit Xhaka during the summer transfer window
If we’re being completely honest with ourselves, it would have been a transfer that felt more befitting of his status and reputation than an unexpected move to newly promoted Sunderland.
Over the summer, Granit Xhaka - that Black Cats legend in the making - was linked with a prospective switch to AC Milan, only for the Italian giants’ reported pursuit of the midfielder to go belly up, and for him to instead pack a suitcase for the Stadium of Light.
Given how well he has taken to life on Wearside, you suspect that there are more than a fair few of a red and black persuasion at the San Siro now kicking themselves on a weekly basis. And indeed, a fresh report from MilanLive all but confirms those suspicions.
What has been said about AC Milan’s summer transfer interest in Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka?
According to the Italian outlet, Milan did hold a genuine interest in Xhaka this summer, but were ultimately unwilling to pay more than £10.6 million to prise him away from previous employers Bayer Leverkusen.
As Sunderland themselves found out, that figure was nowhere near enough to press Leverkusen into a sale, with the Black Cats eventually coughing up a fee closer to £17.6 million. At the time, despite sporting director Igli Tare’s eagerness to lure Xhaka to Milan, there were reservations about his age, while there was also an apparent hope that his insistence upon leaving Leverkusen could force through an agreement at a reduced rate.
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For his part, Xhaka is said to have agreed personal terms with Milan, but talks between the two clubs never really gained any momentum, and instead, it was Sunderland who swooped in, paid up, and secured his signature. The Swiss international’s performances since then have done little to console Tare and co. either, with suggestions that there is now a sense of regret that Milan allowed themselves to be pipped at the post.
The Serie A outfit’s misfire has very much been to Sunderland’s benefit, however. Across his first 10 Premier League matches, Xhaka has registered three assists and a goal, and heading into last weekend, had covered more distance than any other player in the division. He is also, at the time of writing, the highest-rated central midfielder in the top flight, according to FotMob statisticians - outperforming the likes of Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch, Arsenal’s Declan Rice, Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo, and Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes, who make up the remainder of the top five.
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