Sunderland reach verbal agreement with Granit Xhaka; Bayer Leverkusen reject first offer | OneFootball

Florian Plettenberg reports that Sunderland have reached a verbal agreement with Granit Xhaka (32) over a three-year contract, until 2028, with an option to extend for a further year.

This comes just 24 hours after Xhaka made it known that if he was to leave Bayer Leverkusen, then it would only be for Sunderland, despite interest from Inter and Milan, as well as a verbal agreement with Saudi club Neom SC – although the Swiss midfielder and his family appeared hesitant on a move to Saudi Arabia. As such, Sunderland are now in pole position.

According to Plettenberg, negotiations between Sunderland and Bayer Leverkusen are now ongoing but the Bundesliga side have rejected an opening offer from the Black Cats, who returned to the Premier League for the first time since 2017. With no agreement, as of yet, in sight, die Werkself are demanding up to €20m for Xhaka.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder