Frimpong, Trossard react to Granit Xhaka’s message amid Sunderland rumours
Jeremie Frimpong and Leandro Trossard have each reacted to a new message from Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka amid reported interest from Sunderland.
Xhaka is best-known in English football for his seven-year spell at Arsenal between 2016 and 2023 which was often marred with controversy and involved a fractured relationship with their supporters.
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 signed a five-year contract with the German side and 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.
The 32-year-old featured 49 times last term as Leverkusen finished second, but has been linked with a move away ahead of next term with newly-promoted Premier League side Sunderland lining up a bid to sign Xhaka in what would be a huge statement of intent on their return to the top-flight.
Xhaka posts pre-season update after playing for Leverkusen
Numerous Saudi Pro League teams are also interested in signing Xhaka, but Neom SC are now out of the race for his signature as they were not willing to pay more than €8m (£6.9m) to sign him [Sacha Tavolieri].
Erik ten Hag’s Leverkusen were surprisingly beaten 5-1 by Flamengo’s Under-20 side on Friday (18 July) in the first game of their pre-season tour of Brazil, and Xhaka took to Instagram to share an update after the defeat with numerous pictures from the game alongside a hashtagged caption of “GX34.”
His update was reacted to by new Liverpool man Frimpong, Arsenal winger Trossard and Burnley striker Zeki Amdouni, who each liked the post.
Xhaka capture would be great for Sunderland but looks unlikely
Football Insider verdict
Sunderland’s challenge in the new season will simply be to stay afloat and within touching distance of safety for as long as possible, as they do face an uphill battle to avoid relegation following their surprise play-off win in May.
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.
Xhaka would undoubtedly be a real statement signing if he was to join, yet his status as a regular for Leverkusen does plunge a potential move into doubt, as he is unlikely to want to be embroiled in a battle at the wrong end of the Premier League table.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 225 | 17 | 24 |
As well as that, journalist Tavolieri recently reported that Xhaka is leaning towards staying at Leverkusen due to his family reportedly struggling with the idea of leaving Germany, with Fenerbahce interested alongside the Black Cats.
That means a move seems even more improbable, and even though the idea of him joining will have been great for Sunderland fans to think about, they can likely chalk this potential transfer down as one that never really got out of the starting blocks.