Sunderland turn down Chelsea’s £8m offer for Granit Xhaka, tell them he’s not for sale

Sunderland have turned down an offer from Chelsea to sign Granit Xhaka and informed their Premier League counterparts the midfielder is not for sale at any valuation.

Chelsea’s interest is being driven by new manager Xabi Alonso, under whom Xhaka played at Bayer Leverkusen, and an offer worth £8million (€9.2m, $10.5m) was sent on Saturday.

While Chelsea feel the proposal is fair, Sunderland have deemed it to be unacceptable and regard the approach as lacking respect for both the 33-year-old Switzerland international and Wearside club.

After joining from Leverkusen last summer in a deal worth up to £17.5m including add-ons and being made captain, Xhaka helped secure an unexpected seventh-place finish and European football for the first time if 53 years.

It was sealed with a final-day home win against Chelsea, which saw the west London side finish 10th and miss out on continental competition.

Xhaka remains contracted until June 2028 and Sunderland have stated there is no intention of sanctioning his departure. They told Chelsea no further offers would be entertained and that the contractual position should be respected by all parties.

A change in strategy from Chelsea?

Analysis by Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson

This is the clearest evidence yet that Chelsea’s desire to buy ready-made players is not just all talk.

The first summer deal for Serie A’s defender of the year in Marco Palestra gave a hint of that but he is also just 21 years old, so akin to the kind of age range Chelsea have looked at over the past four years under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium.

Chelsea’s strong interest in Crystal Palace’s 26-year-old centre back Maxence Lacroix is another strong indication. But by going after Xhaka, a player who turns 34 in September, the club are breaking new ground under this ownership.

They have not acquired a player at such a late stage of his career before. Defender Kalidou Kouilbaly is the oldest acquisition of the BlueCo era up to now, joining from Napoli at the age of 31 in 2022. He was sold to Al-Hilal just 12 months later.

Xhaka, who spent seven years at Arsenal, has far greater knowledge of playing in the Premier League than Kouilbaly had and will not need time to adapt to life in the capital.

Chelsea feel there is a need for some more mature voices in the dressing room and, while it is not necessarily all about just buying someone older, Xhaka’s impact on and off the pitch at Sunderland last season is clearly something that could benefit the west London club now.

There is also a very strong connection with Alonso, with the Switzerland international having played under the Spaniard for two years at Leverkusen. The Bundesliga club won the double of league and cup when the duo were there, going unbeaten throughout the domestic campaign.

Having someone he trusts and knows so well help him get his Chelsea tenure underway will surely appeal to Alonso.