Sunderland have rejected an £8million offer from Chelsea to buy Granit Xhaka.
Standard Sport reported on Wednesday that Chelsea had taken Sunderland by surprise by making Xhaka a summer transfer target.
Sunderland insist their captain is not for sale at any price.
The fee Chelsea offered to Sunderland was influenced by the fact Xhaka turns 34 in September and has two years left on his contract.
Chelsea’s interest in Xhaka has come directly from Xabi Alonso, has had regular communication with the club’s recruitment team throughout the early weeks of the summer even though he only officially takes the reins from July 1.
Alonso was in charge of Bayer Leverkusen in 2024 when Xhaka had a huge influence on the German team’s Bundesliga title-winning campaign, playing in all but three of the side’s league matches.
The Swiss international has been lauded this season for his similar impact at Sunderland.
The newly-promoted club finished seventh in the Premier League and surpassed expectations by qualifying for the Europa League.
Alonso was hoping a deal could be made, but Sunderland’s knockback and insistence that Xhaka is not for sale is a blow to Chelsea’s hopes of landing the experienced former Arsenal midfielder.
Targeting Xhaka signifies a change in transfer direction from Chelsea, which had been anticipated this summer.
Since Chelsea’s 2022 takeover by the BlueCo consortium, they have signed young players almost exclusively.
Internal discussions at Chelsea throughout the season saw the club’s hierarchy reach the conclusion that a greater level of leadership is needed within the squad.
