Chelsea look set to miss out on Granit Xhaka as the Swiss midfielder has now confirmed that his plan is to stay at Sunderland this summer.
The former Arsenal midfielder has been a top Chelsea target this summer, with his former manager Xabi Alonso keen to work with him again.
Xhaka had a star role under Alonso when they were together at Bayer Leverkusen, and it certainly could have made sense for them to be reunited to try to get this Chelsea project off the ground.
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Still, see below as Xhaka himself has given an interview making it clear that he’s happy at Sunderland and that he and his family will be staying…
Granit Xhaka nos confirmó en los micros de @DAZN_ES que se quedará en el Sunderland. Finalmente NO marchará al Chelsea de Xabi Alonso, equipo para el que sonaba con mucha mucha fuerza. Recordemos que Xabi le entrenó ya en el Leverkusen y le quería de vuelta en Londres. Pese a la… pic.twitter.com/FCQmLDNA2M
— Javier Valle (@javivalle17) July 9, 2026
“Sunderland has been my home since day one. We are all very happy. I’ve decided to stay where I am; the most important thing is family. I’m ready to make history with them,” he said.
“That’s not my job (to talk about Chelsea). I have my management for that. I want to concentrate fully on the World Cup.”
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Who else could Chelsea sign in midfield?
This is far from ideal for Alonso as he looks to get off to a strong start at Chelsea, with the Blues in need of more experience.
This is a youthful CFC squad and it won’t be easy for Alonso to take over after the team’s struggles last season under both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.
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Bringing in an experienced winner like Xhaka could really have helped Alonso implement his ideas and improve the mood around the club, but he’ll now have to look for alternatives.
Chelsea have also been linked with Alex Scott by Simon Phillips, but that would be another young player being eyed for the long-term, rather than someone who could immediately add leadership and winning know-how to this side.