Chelsea transfer news: Xhaka verbal deal done
Chelsea transfer news: The Stamford Bridge revolving door is spinning again, and this time, it’s an absolute blockbuster. Granit Xhaka has reached a full verbal agreement to join Chelsea. Personal terms are entirely sorted. Salary, contract length, the lot.
This isn’t your standard, run-of-the-mill paper talk either. Sky Sport DE’s Florian Plettenberg broke the news on Saturday morning, sending social media into an absolute frenzy. Xhaka is ready. Now, the clubs have to sort out the messy part.
Incoming Blues boss Xabi Alonso is the driving force behind this one. He doesn’t officially take the wheel in West London until 1 July, but his prints are all over this transfer. Alonso made it clear to the Chelsea board from day dot that the Swiss midfielder was his absolute priority. The pair share a serious bond from their time together at Bayer Leverkusen, where Xhaka served as Alonso’s general on the pitch during that historic, unbeaten double-winning season. Xhaka reportedly agreed to the move without a second thought, desperate to work with his old manager again and get back to London.
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Sunderland, however, are not going to play ball easily. Under Régis Le Bris, the Black Cats just pulled off a staggering seventh-place finish, securing Europa League football in their first season back in the big time. Xhaka was the heartbeat of that team, walking away with the Player of the Season award. He played 2,903 minutes across 34 league games, scoring once, setting up six, and collecting eight yellow cards.
Classic Xhaka. Hard-tackling, uncompromising, and completely indispensable. Ironically, his final game of the campaign was a 90-minute shift in a 2-1 win against Chelsea back on 24 May. A 7.24 average FotMob rating across the year tells you everything about his consistency. Sunderland don’t want to sell. They don’t need to, either. The player is locked down until 2028, and Stadium of Light officials spent Saturday insisting he is going nowhere.
Chelsea’s initial informal nibble sits around the £26m mark. It feels a bit short. Sunderland paid roughly £17.3m to bring him in from Germany, and they will want a massive premium now. A package totalling around €30m, roughly £25.5m, might make the Wearside accountants stop and think. He is 33. Selling him for that kind of money represents pure, clean profit on the balance sheet, which helps massively with Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Read: Chelsea had contacts with €55m defender today – eyeing one more
Right now, Xhaka is away at the World Cup, wearing the captain’s armband for Switzerland after helping them top their group to reach the round of 32. Nothing gets signed while he is on international duty. Chelsea are pushing hard, Xhaka wants the move, and Sunderland are digging their heels in.
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