Xhaka set to leave Arsenal in £13m deal
Bayer Leverkusen lining up summer switch for midfielder German club’s Diaby could move in opposite direction
It appears increasingly likely that Granit Xhaka will leave Arsenal this summer amid serious interest from Bayer Leverkusen. The north London club are in advanced talks with the German side over a deal that could be worth in the region of £13 million.
The 30-year-old Swiss international has one year remaining on his Arsenal contract and there is no expectation the club will look to extend that deal. There is, however, an option of an extra year, which will help to protect the midfielder’s transfer value this summer.
With Leverkusen understood to be offering a lucrative long-term contract, Xhaka is regarded as likely to return to the Bundesliga, where he previously played for Borussia Monchengladbach.
Xhaka signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2016 and has been a near-constant presence in the team over a turbulent seven-year period, during which he was stripped of the captaincy and turned on by the club’s supporters.
In recent seasons he has succeeded in rebuilding that relationship with the fans, and this year has thrived in a more advanced midfield role under Mikel Arteta.
Leverkusen are managed by former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso, a close friend of Arteta since childhood.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are among the clubs interested in signing 23-year-old Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby. Xhaka’s expected departure will help to create space in the Arsenal squad as Arteta and sporting director Edu target at least one central midfielder, if not two, in the summer window.
Arsenal’s top target for the window is West Ham United captain Declan Rice, and they are also interested in Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Chelsea’s Mason Mount.
Meanwhile,
Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun has switched his international allegiance to the United States and will therefore not represent England at this summer’s European Under-21 Championship.
Balogun, 21, was born in the United States and has represented the country at international youth level, as well as playing for England’s junior teams. This season he has thrived on loan in France, where he has scored 20 goals for Ligue 1 side Reims.