Chelsea are working on a deal to sign Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka, who is keen on the idea of a move to west London.New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso is determined to reunite with the midfielder, having coached him for two seasons at Bayer Leverkusen.Sunderland, though, have no intention currently of selling Xhaka, who remains an important part of their planning and is under contract at the Stadium of Light through to 2028. Chelsea are not willing to pay a large fee for a player who turns 34 later this year.The former Arsenal player joined Sunderland from Leverkusen last summer in a €20million ($17.3m; $22.8m) deal and was immediately made captain, playing an influential role in the newly-promoted club’s seventh-place Premier League finish and qualification for next season’s Europa League.Xhaka is currently at the World Cup with Switzerland, who have qualified for the last-32 stage of the competition.Xhaka spent seven seasons at Arsenal between 2016 and 2023 before joining Leverkusen, where he was an integral player under Alonso as the club won their first Bundesliga title in 2023-24, alongside winning the DFB-Pokal and reaching the Europa League final.Chelsea are also set to sign defender Marco Palestra from Atalanta, while winger Geovanny Quenda and striker Emmanuel Emegha will join the club in a pre-agreed transfers.A change in transfer strategy from Chelsea?Analysis by Chelsea correspondent Simon JohnsonThis is the clearest evidence yet that Chelsea’s desire to buy ready-made players is not just all talk.The first summer deal for Serie A’s defender of the year in Palestra gave a hint of that but he is also just 21 years old, so akin to the kind of age range Chelsea have looked at over the past four years under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium.Chelsea’s strong interest in Crystal Palace’s 26-year-old centre back Maxence Lacroix is another strong indication. But by going after Xhaka, a player who turns 34 in September, the club are breaking new ground under this ownership.Palestra is set to be Chelsea’s first summer signing (Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)They have not acquired a player at such a late stage of his career before. Defender Kalidou Kouilbaly is the oldest acquisition of the BlueCo era up to now, joining from Napoli at the age of 31 in 2022. He was sold to Al-Hilal just 12 months later.Xhaka, who spent seven years at Arsenal, has far greater knowledge of playing in the Premier League than Kouilbaly had and will not need time to adapt to life in the capital.Chelsea feel there is a need for some more mature voices in the dressing room and, while it is not necessarily all about just buying someone older, Xhaka’s impact on and off the pitch at Sunderland last season is clearly something that could benefit the west London club now.There is also a very strong connection with Alonso, with the Switzerland international having played under the Spaniard for two years at Leverkusen. The Bundesliga club won the double of league and cup when the duo were there, going unbeaten throughout the domestic campaign.Having someone he trusts and knows so well help him get his Chelsea tenure underway will surely appeal to Alonso.Jun 27, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms