Granit Xhaka to Chelsea: Sunderland dig in as Chelsea sniff around Xhaka
Granit Xhaka to Chelsea: The summer transfer window loves a saga. This year, it’s Granit Xhaka to Chelsea. It’s the story that simply refuses to go away, yet Sunderland’s answer to every single phone call from West London remains entirely unchanged. No.
Ben Jacobs reported on X that the Black Cats have held fresh talks with their talismanic midfielder. They emerged from those meetings quietly confident that the Switzerland international will stay put on Wearside. They have told Chelsea directly, and repeatedly, that he is absolutely not for sale. That stance hardened significantly after Sunderland rebuffed an opening offer worth £8m. Frankly, that sort of money barely scratches the surface for a club preparing for its first European campaign in decades.
Why Xabi Alonso wants his man
The pull from Stamford Bridge isn’t random. Xabi Alonso officially took charge of Chelsea on 1 July 2026. He knows Xhaka inside out, having managed him at Bayer Leverkusen during that extraordinary, unbeaten Bundesliga title run in 2023-24. Alonso knows exactly what the veteran midfielder brings to the pitch. It’s the positioning. The tempo control. The sheer, unadulterated authority that quietens a dressing room before a single word is spoken. Chelsea finished a wretched 10th last term. Now, they are desperately chasing Premier League-proven experience to shift the dynamic in a midfield that looked lightweight too often last year. Xhaka is an ideal option.
Sources confirmed to ESPN that the player was initially drawn to the idea. A return to the capital, plus a reunion with the coach who got the absolute best out of him professionally, you can see the attraction. Chelsea were never going to pay through the nose for a player who turns 34 in September, which aligns with their revised transfer model under Alonso. Their opening £8m bid, quickly broken by The Athletic’s David Ornstein, made that calculation clear. Sunderland rejected it without a second thought.
Things change fast in football, though. Sunderland sources have since told Jacobs that Xhaka’s mindset has shifted following further conversations with the hierarchy. He is now expected to lead the team into the Europa League next season. It’s a competition he knows inside out from his days at Arsenal and Leverkusen.
His importance to the Wearside club goes way beyond basic metrics, even if those metrics are impressive. Xhaka racked up 2,902 minutes across 34 league appearances in 2025-26, scoring once and providing six assists. He averaged a FotMob rating of 7.24, putting him among the upper echelon of top-flight midfielders last year. His off-the-ball work rate was just as striking. Take the match at Nottingham Forest early in the campaign: 11.41km covered, seven duels won, eight clearances, and seven ball recoveries.
Transfermarkt currently values Xhaka at €8m, while Football Transfers places his Estimated Transfer Value at €17.1m. Sunderland, naturally, want considerably more than either figure for a captain heading into Europe. They spent £13m to bring him in from Leverkusen last summer, and he was the central pillar in keeping them up and securing that European spot.
Read: Chelsea considering transfer move for £50m Barcelona star
Chelsea’s pursuit continues in the background. They remain active, they remain interested, and Alonso’s desire for his former general has not cooled. Sunderland are being equally stubborn. Their captain is staying put.
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