Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka is nearing a move to Bayer Leverkusen but as of now, the transfer is on hold.
According to Kicker, this is because Arsenal want to sign a top-class replacement for Xhaka with the Premier League club interested in both Declan Rice (West Ham) and Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City). Both clubs are competing in European finals this week and so all negotiations are suspended until after the UEFA Europa Conference League (Wednesday) and Champions League (Saturday) finals.
Arsenal also face competition from Bayern Munich to sign Rice as the Bundesliga club look to intensify their efforts to sign the England international. Whilst the Gunners aren’t completely out of the race, Rice could imagine a move to Bayern with negotiations between both parties already taking place.
When the deal goes through, Arsenal can expect to receive €15m from Bayer Leverkusen for Xhaka who is expected to sign a four-year contract until 2027, and who will return to Germany after leaving Mönchengladbach for London in 2016.
A key reason for Xhaka’s return to the Bundesliga is his family. Xhaka’s wife is from the Rhine area and would like to return to Germany as the two met during his time at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
