Granit Xhaka is set to finalise his long-anticipated move to Bayer Leverkusen after Arsenal agreed a £21.5 million fee for the Swiss international.
According to football.london, the move to take Granit Xhaka to Bayer Leverkusen is “edging closer”, and Arsenal will recoup an increased transfer fee of around £21.5 million for the midfielder’s services.
Arsenal are ready to allow Xhaka to leave as soon as they finalise the £105 million deal for West Ham captain Declan Rice. Bayer Leverkusen are also waiting eagerly for the Gunners to give the midfielder the green light to leave.
They already have a deal in place for Xhaka to sign in Germany. Die Werkself were actually keen for a bargain deal, with initial reports suggesting a fee in the region of £13 million. But it appears Gunners technical director Edu Gasper has managed to negotiate more favourable terms for the north Londoners, who will now receive over £20 million for their player.
The German outfit feels Xhaka can have a long-term future at BayArena and have already offered Xhaka a four-year contract to secure his return to the Bundesliga after seven years away.
The Swiss midfielder spent four years there as a Borussia Monchengladbach player and even captained the Foals in 2015 before agreeing a £34 million move to Arsenal in the summer of 2016. In his seven years in North London, the Swiss midfielder has experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, going from captain to outcast to going on a sensational redemption arc last term.
Xhaka was close to leaving Arsenal at the time of Mikel Arteta’s appointment, as he fell out with the club’s supporters after throwing his shirt to the ground while being subbed off in a game when Unai Emery was in charge. Arteta convinced the Swiss midfielder to stay put and made him an integral part of his team, as well as the dressing room.
Previously used as a holding midfielder despite his lack of recovery pace and poor disciplinary record, the 30-year-old flourished in a box-to-box role under Arteta lately, which suits him very well, so much so that he enjoyed a tremendous 2022/23 campaign, where he achieved his best-attacking output, scoring seven goals and providing seven assists in 37 Premier League appearances while only picking up four yellow cards.
Despite allowing Xhaka to leave once Rice joins, Arteta remains a huge fan of the midfielder on and off the pitch. But Arsenal will look to offload players to make room in their squad for new quality additions to take them to the next level.
With Ghanaian destroyer Thomas Partey wanted by Juventus and attracting interest from elsewhere in Italy and Saudi Arabia, Rice may not be the only midfield signing this summer; the Gunners are also linked with Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo in terms of further midfield additions.
