According to Italian journalist Luca Cerchione, Chelsea is planning to make a formal offer for Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka. Sources say that Alonso, who is set to officially take over as Chelsea head coach on July 1, has clearly expressed his desire to sign the player to club owners BlueCo and hopes to complete the deal as soon as possible.
From a fitness and scheduling perspective, the context surrounding this potential transfer warrants careful consideration. Xhaka is now 33 years old and is currently competing with the Swiss national team at the World Cup. After the conclusion of a high-intensity international tournament, the player's recovery timeline, integration into pre-season preparation, and competitive condition at the start of the new Premier League season are all practical factors that any potential buyer must take into account. For a midfield mainstay who made 34 Premier League appearances last season, workload management after consecutive heavy commitments often matters more than transfer speculation itself in determining the ceiling of his short-term performance.
Their history together is an important backdrop to Alonso pushing this deal. During their time together at Bayer Leverkusen, they won the 2023-24 Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles and reached that season’s Europa League final. In the summer of 2025, Xhaka joined Sunderland from Leverkusen for a total transfer fee of £17.3 million, signing a contract until 2028. The former Arsenal player made 34 Premier League appearances last season — 32 starts and two as a substitute — with one goal and six assists, making him one of the key figures behind the Black Cats finishing seventh in the league and securing Europa League qualification for the 2026-27 season.
Bid details
Cerchione posted on X at 11:22 a.m. on June 27, saying Chelsea’s move for Xhaka came at Alonso’s explicit request, with the Blues’ opening bid set at €30 million (around £26 million). The journalist has more than 14,000 followers and had previously been among the first to report Chelsea’s interest in Marco Palestra.
From a sporting perspective, Xhaka’s value is not limited to what appears in the statistics. At Sunderland, he takes on playmaking, linking and on-pitch leadership duties — a role that, for a team rebuilding its squad, means the tactical system must be recalibrated around his rhythm in possession. If the deal goes through, Chelsea’s midfield structure, rotation depth and fitness management across European and domestic fixtures in the new season would all change accordingly.
Contract and competition
It should be noted that Xhaka’s contract with Sunderland remains valid until 2028, and if Chelsea want to take him away from the Stadium of Light this summer, they will still need to negotiate transfer terms with the club. This is not the first time Xhaka has been linked with a move — in May, Manchester United legend Schmeichel publicly urged the Red Devils to sign Xhaka on a podcast, stressing that the team needs an experienced midfielder with genuine leadership. So far, however, Chelsea have yet to issue an official response on the bid or the progress of negotiations.
With the World Cup schedule not yet over and players still in their national-team duty cycle, any transfer progress must align with players’ recovery plans and the pre-season training timeline. For Chelsea and new head coach Alonso, whether they can push the deal forward while respecting the player’s physical recovery rhythm will directly affect whether Shaka, if he eventually joins, can quickly reach match fitness at the start of the new season.
