Granit Xhaka only wants to join Sunderland

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·22 July 2025

Granit Xhaka only wants to join Sunderland

David Ornstein reports that Granit Xhaka only wants to join Sunderland, should he leave Bayer Leverkusen this summer. Talks between the two clubs are ongoing and there is an agreement in place between Xhaka and Sunderland.

This comes after Saudi club Neom SC made a concrete approach to sign Xhaka with both parties reaching a verbal agreement. But in the end, a move to Saudi Arabia wasn’t the right one for the Swiss midfielder and his family. Both Milan and Inter also showed interest in signing the 32-year-old, but it’s now Sunderland that are in pole position.

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Should Erik ten Hag have it his way, Xhaka would remain in Leverkusen. The Dutchman told Bild: “If it’s up to me, Granit should stay.”

If Xhaka does leave Bayer Leverkusen, he would become the latest player to swap Bayer for the Premier League after Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong joined Liverpool.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder