BBC pundit Glenn Murray hails £17m Granit Xhaka as ‘huge’ for Sunderland’s fight with Burnley and Leeds
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Murray discussed Sunderland’s summer transfer business alongside presenter Kelly Somers, who singled out the former Arsenal captain as a standout arrival.
Somers said to Murray on the Football Daily’s Premier League preview show: “One of the signings that has kind of caught the eye is Granit Xhaka, former Arsenal man – of course, he's going to be the captain as well. That feels like a shrewd move.”
Murray agreed, highlighting the Switzerland international’s leadership and experience as vital to Régis Le Bris’ side this season. “Yeah, very shrewd move and like I said, Leeds and Burnley have a little bit of Premier League experience.”
The former Brighton and Crystal Palace striker, who hails from Cumbria originally, added regarding Xhaka to Sunderland: “He brings so much Premier League experience into Sunderland. He will be an organiser on the pitch for Régis Le Bris. It'll be a huge signing for me.”
Xhaka’s £17.5million move from Bayer Leverkusen has been one of the headline deals of Sunderland’s £150million summer outlay, with the 32-year-old to wear the captain’s armband in their first Premier League season since 2017. The Black Cats begin their campaign at home to West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.
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Régis Le Bris has confirmed that Sunderland’s three most recent summer signings are in contention to face West Ham United – although they may have to settle for a place on the bench.
Marc Guiu and Arthur Masuaku both missed the club’s final pre-season friendlies as they built up match fitness, while centre-back Omar Alderete was only unveiled earlier this week following his move from Getafe. Alderete endured a disrupted pre-season in Spain due to a minor knee problem, and while he is now fit, Le Bris has hinted at taking a cautious approach.
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“The final decision [on these players] will be late,” Le Bris said. “They came this week, so we will have to see if they are ready. To start or just the final part of the game? We’ll see tomorrow. I think with Marc, Arthur and Omar, we are going to have the opportunity to select them.
“I think it might be a little bit tough to start because of their fitness levels and because they have not had much time with their team-mates. So it might be a little bit early for them to start, but that is a decision we will make on Friday morning.
“With Omar, he has had two 45s, I think. There was also a small issue with his knee, but that is now totally healed. He had about ten days where he was not in full training. I think he is probably not really ready to start a game. I think if we needed him really, he could, because he is a warrior.”
With Alderete still working his way to full sharpness, Jenson Seelt could feature after an encouraging pre-season campaign. Le Bris also confirmed winger Romaine Mundle faces at least two months on the sidelines following hamstring surgery.
The 21-year-old suffered a recurrence of the injury during Sunderland’s pre-season training camp in Portugal. “The timeframe was about two-and-a-half or three months, so I think he will hopefully be back sometime in October,” Le Bris said.
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