Sunderland told Chelsea that Granit Xhaka is not for sale at any price. Chelsea is expected to come back with a bigger number anyway.
The Blues have had an initial £8 million offer rejected for the 33-year-old Swiss midfielder, who captained Sunderland through their first Premier League season back and helped secure a seventh-place finish. Xhaka has reportedly reached a verbal agreement on personal terms with Chelsea and is eager to make the move, driven largely by one factor: Xabi Alonso.
The Alonso connection
Alonso, who officially begins his tenure as Chelsea manager on 1 July 2026, coached Xhaka for two years at Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso wants familiar faces as he rebuilds Chelsea’s midfield identity. Xhaka wants to work under the manager who helped him reach arguably the best form of his career in Germany.
Xhaka moved to Sunderland from Leverkusen on 30 July 2025 for a reported £13 million, plus £4 million in add-ons. He was handed the captain’s armband immediately. So when Chelsea comes knocking with £8 million, roughly half of what Sunderland paid just a year ago, you can understand why the Black Cats slammed the door shut.
