Chelsea’s signing of Granit Xhaka came as a bit of a surprise to everyone earlier this week, but things have now quieted down a bit as Sunderland rejected the Blues’ initial offer.
But as I first reported here in the Daily Briefing, I believe the story is far from over.
“Yes, Chelsea absolutely intend to make another bid for Xhaka,” a source in the agent world told me this morning. “Xabi Alonso is determined to work with him again. Sunderland turned down £8m but there could be a new offer of around £10m.”
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Personally, I’m not sure this will work out even if Chelsea only go up to £10m, but we’ll see. One of the key factors to keep in mind is on the player side, with Xhaka already letting Sunderland know he is keen for this move to happen. He wants to live in London again and his family agrees.
Sunderland will insist Xhaka stays, but their message at the moment is that the Swiss international is not on the market at any cost. However, the reality in football is often quite different, so even if an improved £10m offer isn’t enough, there is likely to be a point where the Black Cats will have to consider signing a player who will turn 34 in September and clearly wants to leave.
What’s next in the Granit Xhaka-to-Chelsea transfer story?
Chelsea will likely have to pay more than £10 million. We will have to see if some package with more add-ons and bonuses can be agreed, but it is very difficult to see Sunderland accepting just £10m as a base fee.
Sources at the Stadium of Light are not at all happy with Chelsea’s low opening offer and £10m is not enough to improve that. At the same time, it’s unclear whether the Blues’ owners are truly prepared to invest heavily in a player with no resale value.
As Xhaka’s signing shows, there is some flexibility in this year’s approach, with Chelsea prepared to add experienced players in addition to their usual investment in young players, but there will always be limits and it is difficult to see where the compromises will be when it comes to Xhaka.
The pair worked so well together at Bayer Leverkusen that Alonso would very much like to see them reunite at Stamford Bridge, but other options are being considered as well, and Chelsea’s new manager is said to be open to considering any alternatives presented to him by recruiters.
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Similarly, Ayyoub Bouadi is also a player Chelsea like, but nothing is happening at the moment, with Manchester City understood to be more advanced in that regard, with Lille seeking a deal to keep the 18-year-old for another year.
The usual names will still come up from time to time, but I won’t worry about them for now until I have something more substantial to say, but you probably know who I’m talking about anyway.
For now, a renewed effort to finalize a deal for Xhaka is the most likely scenario, with a fresh bid made and a clearer idea of what will happen next based on Sunderland’s response.
