Chelsea have submitted a £26m bid to sign Sunderland midfielder and former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka in the summer transfer window.
This is according to a report from journalist Luca Cerchione (via GIVEMESPORT).
The potential signing is believed to have been personally requested by Alonso, who managed Xhaka during his time at Bayer Leverkusen.
It feels unlikely that Sunderland would be willing to accept a bid of just £26 million for Xhaka, considering he was their ‘best’ player last campaign and won their player of the season award.
Alonso knows the midfielder well, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that they are targeting that profile of signing.
Chelsea have heavily focused their recruitment on bringing in young talent from around the world over the last few years.
Although it could be an effective method in the long term, they do lack experience in all positions.
The Blues are one of the most ill-disciplined sides in the Premier League, getting more red cards last season than any other team.
The signing of someone like Xhaka won’t only offer experience in himself. He’s also the type of leader who can help get the best out of other players.
Sunderland managed to qualify for European football last season, despite only being promoted the previous campaign, and Xhaka was a key reason behind that.
