Frimpong and Martinez react to Granit Xhaka’s message as Sunderland switch nears
Jeremie Frimpong and Emi Martinez have reacted to a message from Granit Xhaka as he edges ever closer to joining Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen.
Xhaka is best-known in English football for his seven-year spell at Arsenal between 2016 and 2023, and he looks close to a surprise move back to the Premier League this summer.
The Swiss international midfielder made nearly 300 appearances for the Gunners and even held the captain’s armband in 2019 before moving on to join Leverkusen in 2023 for a fee of £21.4million [BBC].
He made an instant impact as a regular starter in their side as Xabi Alonso led his squad to an invincible title-winning Bundesliga season in Xhaka’s debut campaign, and also featured 49 times last term as Leverkusen finished second.
The 32-year-old is now seemingly set for a shock return to England with newly-promoted Sunderland, after The Times (23 July) reported that Xhaka had agreed terms to join the Black Cats, while Fabrizio Romano (28 July) has now claimed that an agreement has been reached between all parties for him to move to the Stadium of Light for a €20m (£17.3m) fee on a two-year deal.
Xhaka shares Leverkusen update amid Sunderland rumours
Leverkusen recently returned from a warm-weather training camp in Brazil, and despite now looking set to leave the club, Xhaka took to Instagram on Sunday (27 July) to share some pictures of him in action in a pre-season friendly against VfL Bochum alongside the caption: “Keep Going” with a flexed bicep emoji.
His two-word message was reacted to with likes from new Liverpool signing Frimpong, Aston Villa goalkeeper Martinez and his current Leverkusen teammates Jarell Quansah, Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonas Hofmann.
Xhaka capture is a huge statement from Sunderland
Football Insider verdict
Sunderland’s challenge in 2024/25 is to simply avoid relegation at all costs and to stay within touching distance of safety for as long as possible, and they will have a much better chance of survival with a player like Xhaka in the team each week.
Regis Le Bris has already done some shrewd business in the summer window, with Habib Diarra signed for a club-record fee from Strasbourg and promising winger Simon Adingra brought to Wearside from Brighton.
The Swiss international is clearly forcing through a move to Wearside, after his agent recently admitted that Xhaka “wants to return to the Premier League,” while Leverkusen boss Erik ten Hag has been trying to push back against his departure, recently saying: “The agent of Xhaka can say whatever he wants, but this club has already let three important players go, and we won’t let any more go.”
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 225 | 17 | 24 |
That shows commitment and a will to help the team before he has even joined, and if a move does go through soon, many Sunderland supporters and neutrals alike will be a lot more optimistic about their Premier League survival chances due to Xhaka’s quality, leadership skills and extensive experience at both club and international level.