Arsenal journalist Charles Watts has provided fans with an update on the transfer saga surrounding Granit Xhaka.
The Swiss midfielder, valued at £19.8m on Transfermarkt, has been a pretty central figure for Arsenal since he arrived in 2016, making at least 40 appearances in every season he’s been at the club, surviving three different managers along the way.
But it looks as if his time at the club could be about to come to an end, with Italian side AS Roma showing an interest as they look to start a new era under Jose Mourinho.
Speaking about the matter on his show, Watts explained that negotiations are indeed taking place between the two sides and that he does expect him to leave this summer – but that the two sides appear to be at an impasse when it comes to their respective valuations of the player:
“Looking more and more likely that this will be his last few days, few weeks, however long it takes to get this deal over the line, as an Arsenal player and he will be playing for Roma in Serie A next season.
“Now, it’s not done, and there’s still plenty of work to do on this one. As far as I’m aware, there is no deal agreed yet for Xhaka between Arsenal and Roma, but we are getting there in terms of talks.
“They were quite a long way apart in evaluation not so long ago, the sound is now that both clubs are working pretty hard to get something done and that everyone wants this wrapped up pretty quickly. There’s a willingness on all sides, I’m told, to get this deal over the line relatively quickly.
“Arsenal want about £20m for Xhaka, give or take around that figure – potentially more if they can. But Roma initially only wanted to pay around £15m and now the sides are gonna have to come and reach a sort of acceptable compromise.”
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TIF Thoughts on Charles Watts’ comments about Granit Xhaka’s future…
Hopefully Arsenal do end up agreeing on a decent fee for him, because if his time at the club is coming to an end, as it appears to be based on Watts’ comments, then you would hate to think that they don’t get a deal done just because they were too greedy in what they wanted.
With Arsenal looking to go through a major overhaul this summer, £15m could go a long way to making things happen, so if there is an offer on the table, then they aren’t really in a position to turn any reasonable deal down.
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