It’s been nothing but praise for Granit Xhaka since he joined Sunderland in the summer. And Switzerland teammate Johan Manzambi wants in on the action.
Kicker cover comments from him today in which he is very complimentary about the Sunderland star.
The Swiss national team are preparing for an important World Cup qualifier against Sweden this week. They’ve been uniting today ahead of that game on Saturday. A win for the Swiss would move them to 11 points at the top of the table. They’re already three ahead of Kosovo in second having won three and drawn one of their four games so far.
Xhaka will be a key player in the middle of the park once again. He’ll be looking to take his imperious form from Sunderland into this international break to help his nation.
Manzambi may feature alongside him after impressing for Freiburg in central midfield this season. He has three assists in eight games in the Bundesliga so far. He has, though, often played on the winger under coach Murat Yakin.
Either way, he’ll be playing alongside the Sunderland star, who is also captain for his nation. And Manzambi is clearly a fan of him.
“He’s a fantastic captain,” he said.
“Many teams would love to have a captain like him. Before I met him, I honestly didn’t really have an opinion of him. But I can only say that he’s a very good and cheerful person. I’m glad we have him.”
He also added that Xhaka had given him a “very warm welcome” and even gone as far as to offer “some advice” to the youngster as well. Clearly those efforts made quite the impression. Now the Sunderland star can add to that on the pitch, hopefully against Sweden.