Leandro Trossard reacts to Granit Xhaka’s message as Sunderland switch nears
Leandro Trossard has reacted to a new message from Granit Xhaka as he edges closer to a surprise move to Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen.
Xhaka is best-known in English football for his seven-year spell at Arsenal between 2016 and 2023, and he made nearly 300 appearances for the Gunners 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 has been linked with a move away, though, with newly-promoted Premier League side Sunderland claimed to be lining up a bid to sign Xhaka in what would be a huge statement of intent on their return to the top-flight.
The Times (23 July) have reported that Xhaka has agreed terms to join Sunderland, and his agent, Jose Noguera, recently admitted that the Swiss midfielder “wants to return to the Premier League,” so a move is seemingly imminent.
Xhaka shares Leverkusen pre-season update
Numerous Saudi Pro League teams were also interested in signing Xhaka, but it is now a move to the Stadium of Light that looks set to come to fruition.
Leverkusen have been in Brazil for a warm-weather training camp between 14 and 24 July, and despite rumours around his future at the club, Xhaka took to Instagram on Wednesday (23 July) to share some pictures of him in action on a beach with palm tree and football emojis as the caption alongside the hashtag “GX34.”
His short message was liked by Arsenal winger Trossard, while West Ham man Dinos Mavropanos, and Leverkusen teammates Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonas Hofmann also did the same.
Xhaka capture would be great for 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, as they do realistically face an uphill battle to survive 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.
Telegraph reporter Mike McGrath has claimed that the Black Cats have proposed a three-year deal to Xhaka, while Leverkusen want a quick decision on his future after sporting director Simon Rolfes said: “It won’t be drawn out across the entire transfer window.”
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 297 | 23 | 29 |
Xhaka would undoubtedly be a real statement signing if he was to join Sunderland, and Leverkusen boss Erik ten Hag clearly still rates him as he is 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.”
The Black Cats, though, look primed to make a move to sign him, and many supporters and neutrals alike will be a lot more optimistic about their Premier League survival chances if Xhaka joins soon due to his leadership skills and extensive experience at both club and international level.