Mark Flekken reacts to Granit Xhaka’s message amid Sunderland transfer links
Mark Flekken has reacted to a new message from Bayer Leverkusen teammate Granit Xhaka amid rumours linking him with a move to Sunderland this summer.
Xhaka is best-known in English football for his seven-year spell at Arsenal between 2016 and 2023.
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 has been linked with a move away, though, 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 issues Leverkusen pre-season update
Numerous Saudi Pro League teams are also interested in signing Xhaka, but Neom SC recently pulled out of the race for his signature as they were not willing to pay more than €8m (£6.9m) to sign him [Sacha Tavolieri].
Leverkusen recently visited Brazil for a warm-weather training camp between 14 to 24 July [Bundesliga], and while Erik ten Hag’s side were thrashed 5-1 by Flamengo’s Under-20 side on Friday (18 July), Xhaka clearly still enjoyed himself as he took to Instagram on Sunday (20 July) to share some pictures of him in action with a message saying: “Good time in Rio.”
Xhaka’s update was reacted to with a like from former Brentford and current Leverkusen keeper Flekken, while teammates Patrik Schick and Jonas Hofmann both followed suit.
Xhaka capture would be great for Sunderland but looks unlikely
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.”
Xhaka would undoubtedly be a real statement signing if he was to join, but journalist Tavolieri recently reported that he is leaning towards staying in Germany due to his family reportedly struggling with the idea of leaving the country, with Fenerbahce also interested alongside the Black Cats.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 297 | 23 | 29 |
As well as that, Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport have claimed that Inter Milan are leading the race for his services, while reports in Germany have stated that Xhaka is also a target for West Ham, who are both surely more likely to pull off signing him than Sunderland.
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.