Arsenal
Premier League • England
German giants ‘have no doubts’ key Arsenal man will join them this summer in Arteta changing of the guard
According to reports that emerged on Wednesday, nobody at Bayern Leverkusen ‘has any doubts’ that Granit Xhaka will join them from Arsenal this summer.
A €15million transfer is believed to be in the pipeline for the Swiss midfielder to swap north London for Leverkusen, despite him playing a major role in the club’s Premier League title tilt this season.
A report from Kicker claims that the 30-year-old is heading back to Germany for personal reasons having previously played for Borussia Monchengladbach prior to his move to The Emirates in 2016.
The newspaper states that any last doubts surrounding the potential transfer have been dispelled, with Leverkusen having kept in touch with Xhaka ever since they tried to land him last summer.
Monchengladbach have also been tipped to try and re-sign the Gunners star, while reports of interest from Borussia Dortmund ‘do not worry’ anyone at Leverkusen, such is their confidence that the transfer will go through.
The report adds that Xhaka will sign a four-year contract but will be earning a lower salary in Germany.
No contract document has been signed as yet but it can be assumed ‘with a probability bordering on certainty’ that it will happen.
Xhaka transfer could be accelerated
The proposed transfer had been on the back-burner while the Gunners were still firmly in the title mix, but their hopes fading fast, it’s thought any move could come about quite quickly once the season ends.
As for Arsenal, they are expected to replace Xhaka with either West Ham’s Declan Rice or Brighton star Moises Caicedo.
Both players are likely to cost upwards of £80million, while Arteta may even look to bring in more than one midfielder given rumours that Thomas Partey could also move on.
The Gunners are back in action on Saturday evening when they head to Nottingham Forest knowing they have to win to keep their incredibly slim title hopes alive.