Granit Xhaka’s silence and social media activity have added to Sunderland fan anxiety amid shock Chelsea transfer reports
It does feel, at times, as though Sunderland are simply not allowed to have nice things.
A seventh-place finish. Europa League qualification. A captain who looked and sounded like he had absolutely bought into the whole thing. A player of real stature standing on the pitch at the Stadium of Light and telling supporters this was “only the beginning”.
And then, because this is Sunderland and there is always a rake waiting somewhere in the long grass, Granit Xhaka to Chelsea explodes across socials. Of course it does. The strength of the reporting is impossible to ignore. When major transfer accounts start moving at the same time, it is rarely accidental. There is clearly something going on from Xhaka’s end.
That does not mean a deal is done, or even that Sunderland are prepared to entertain it. The Echo understands the club would not welcome any offers for Xhaka and consider him not for sale. That stance is clear. But this is football, not a parish council meeting. A club stance and a player’s camp are not always the same thing. That is what makes this one so uncomfortable.
Why this one hurts
Xhaka is not just another Sunderland player. He was the signing that made people outside Wearside sit up and wonder what on earth was happening. He arrived with medals, presence, standards and an almost absurd level of authority.
He was a metronome in midfield and a megaphone without needing to shout. Chelsea have spent a fortune and still somehow had a Granit-shaped hole in their team. Sunderland found one and built a huge part of their identity around him. That is why supporters are upset. Not because they are naive. Not because they do not understand modern football. But because Xhaka did not feel like a normal transfer. He felt like a symbol.
His end-of-season speech mattered. His comments while away with Switzerland mattered. The line about Sunderland feeling like home mattered. His insistence that he was “not even thinking about a transfer” mattered. Supporters are entitled to take people at their word until given reason not to.
But you can almost hear the pitch from Chelsea and Alonso. Come back to London. Lead this squad. Unlock the potential. Win the league. Have a wage rise. Be the adult in the room. It is a flattering sell. It is also one Sunderland should make Chelsea pay through the nose for if they are serious.
Sunderland hold strong cards
Because let’s be clear: Sunderland hold strong cards here. Xhaka is under contract until 2028. Sunderland have Europa League football next season. Chelsea do not. Sunderland do not need to sell. Xhaka may turn 34 next year, and a major fee would obviously create a financial conversation, but this is not a club scrambling around for pennies down the back of the sofa. If Chelsea want him, then fine. Pay the premium.
Pay for the player, the captain, the leader, the standards-setter and the damage it would do to Sunderland’s summer plan. Pay for the fact he cannot simply be replaced by searching “experienced midfielder” on Wyscout and hoping for the best. Around £30million? That feels the sort of number where Sunderland may at least have to have the conversation. Anything less and Chelsea should be politely invited to stop wasting everyone’s time.
There is a business argument, of course. Sunderland could turn a serious profit on a soon-to-be 34-year-old. Florent Ghisolfi has already said he is not afraid to sell players and back himself to replace them. That is the model. That is the world Sunderland now operate in. There is no shame in trading well. But some things are harder to quantify.
How do you price calm? How do you price authority? How do you price the player who made everyone around him look a little bit more grown up? Xhaka was not a one-man band last season, and Sunderland’s rise was built on far more than one player, but he was absolutely a catalyst. He changed the temperature in the room.
Betrayal(?), business and awkward truths
That is why the emotional reaction is so strong. There is a feeling of betrayal because Xhaka has the chance to become a Sunderland legend and is already well on the way. To entertain jumping ship so quickly, after everything said publicly, would hurt. It would leave a mark.
There is also a slightly awkward truth in all of this. Xhaka effectively did this to Bayer Leverkusen when he came to Sunderland. He had his reasons then, just as he may have his reasons now. Football supporters are allowed to feel differently when they are on the other side of the door, but it is worth remembering the game is rarely built on sentiment. Still, timing matters.
Alonso was going to Chelsea before Sunderland’s final game of the season against the Londoners, after which Xhaka delivered his “only the beginning” message. Did he know what might be coming? His later comments at the World Cup suggest not, but uncertainty is where football rumours breed. When answers are missing, supporters fill the gaps themselves.
That is why the social media activity has added fuel to the fire. Xhaka’s brother and Lutsharel Geertruida liking posts about him wanting to leave for Chelsea is not nothing. People can scoff at social media reporting all they like, but in modern transfer journalism it often carries real weight. Players, families and agents know exactly what they are doing online.
If Xhaka is aware of the noise, and it is fair to assume he is, he could shut a lot of it down quickly. A few words on Instagram. A line to Swiss media. Something simple. He has not done that yet. No doubt he will be asked before Switzerland’s next game, and his answer will be revealing.
The fan feeling is understandable
Sunderland fans, meanwhile, have already worked through most of the five stages of grief. Denial came first. Anger arrived about three minutes later. Bargaining is probably where many are still living, because technically, as things stand, Xhaka remains a Sunderland player.
And there is a cold argument that Sunderland would have had to replace him sooner or later, so why not now if the money is huge? That only works if the replacement is right, the timing is managed, and the team are not significantly weakened. Selling a leader is one thing. Selling a leader without a plan is self-sabotage.
But the grass is not always greener. Chelsea eat through managers and players with alarming regularity. They have spent fortunes and still often look like a club searching for a spine. Perhaps that explains the Alonso appointment. Perhaps it explains the Xhaka chase. But from Xhaka’s perspective, Sunderland can legitimately ask: is that really more stable than what you have helped build here?
Chelsea should have to pay massively over the odds That, ultimately, is the point. Sunderland are not the soft touch they once were. They have leverage. They have European football. They have a contract until 2028. They have a director of football who does not come across as the type to fold because a bigger badge has started fluttering its eyelashes.
If Xhaka is fully in, brilliant. Sunderland supporters will back him as they always have. If he is not, then no man is bigger than the club. Not even one as important as him. If they really want to test Sunderland’s resolve, they should be made to pay massively over the odds. Sunderland should accept nothing less than exactly what suits them.
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