Chelsea have seen an opening bid of €9.2million (£8m) for Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka rejected, according to The Athletic. The Blues are reportedly keen to add experienced leadership to their squad after receiving a league-high 11 red cards during the 2025-26 Premier League season.
Chelsea view Xhaka as a strong candidate, having witnessed his influential role in captaining Sunderland to a seventh-place finish last term. The pursuit is being spearheaded by new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso, who previously worked with the Swiss international at Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso signed Xhaka from Arsenal in 2023, and the pair were instrumental in Leverkusen’s unbeaten Bundesliga and German Cup double-winning campaign in 2023-24.
Despite the rejection of their initial offer, Chelsea are not abandoning their interest in Xhaka, although they are wary of overspending on a player who will turn 34 in September. Xhaka is currently with the Switzerland national team, preparing for their World Cup round of 32 clash against Algeria on Friday.
The news regarding Xhaka’s potential transfer arrives as Alonso officially began his tenure as Chelsea boss on Monday, having signed a four-year contract with the club in May. Chelsea have confirmed that Alonso and players not involved in the World Cup will begin pre-season training on July 9th, with Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill among those expected at the Cobham training ground. Alonso’s first match in charge will be a friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers in Australia on July 28th, followed by a Premier League opener against Fulham on August 24th.
In a separate development, Chelsea released a statement publicly criticizing former manager Enzo Maresca for a “hugely disappointing” 2025-26 season that saw the club finish 10th in the Premier League. The statement was released shortly after Maresca was announced as the new head coach of Manchester City, replacing Pep Guardiola, and revealed that Maresca will pay compensation to Chelsea for leaving his post prematurely due to City’s interest. This move signals a clear break from the previous regime as Alonso takes the helm.
