Chelsea’s persistent attempts to sign Granit Xhaka have come to an abrupt end after Sunderland made it clear they will not sell him.
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Chelsea’s summer hasn’t exactly gone well in terms of signings, but there has been no shortage of rumors.
Last week was all about Granit Xhaka, the Sunderland midfielder brought in by new coach Xabi Alonso. The Blues made an initial bid of £8 million for him, but were then met with strong resistance from the Black Cats.
The deal sheet from Athletic makes it abundantly clear that this rumor has come to an end.
Alonso doesn’t get his man despite Chelsea’s attempts
Xabi Alonso (Photo by Helge Prang/Getty Images)
“Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka, who was the subject of an £8m bid from Chelsea late last month, has pledged his commitment to Sunderland,” they wrote.
“The club has accepted Sunderland’s decision not to sell Xhaka (as well as his decision to stay) and will not make another attempt to sign him.”
So this is the first bad news for Alonso. Although at the same time that it became clear that Xhaka would not leave, Real Madrid’s statement made it clear that they would not be moving for Enzo Fernandez.
So Alonso will have a midfielder he can work with, even if it’s not the one he’d like.
In other news…
Chelsea are set to sign ‘at least’ one centre-back this summer. Then they have the hard work of selling many more.
The report also covered the biggest event of the year – Marco Palestra’s move from Atalanta – and what it means for players like Malo Gusto.