Hertha Berlin have reportedly launched an initial loan offer for Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka with an option to buy for £25.6m next summer.
The 27-year-old has been limited to 16 appearances so far this season after clashing with fans during the home encounter with Crystal Palace back in October, as noted by the Guardian.
SEE MORE: ‘Old Arsenal came back to bite’ – Pundit on what Arteta now knows he must do to improve Gunners
While he has featured since, speculation over his future has been rife with Mikel Arteta noting after the defeat to Chelsea at the weekend that he hopes Xhaka doesn’t leave, as per the club’s official site.
However, it appears as though Arsenal will face a decision on the Swiss international as it’s reported by The Sun, via L’Equipe, that Hertha Berlin have made an offer of taking him on loan in January until the end of the season with an option to buy for £25.6m.
In turn, it remains to be seen whether or not the Gunners decide to offload Xhaka and look elsewhere to bolster their midfield, or continue to show faith in him and reject any offers.
Any hopes of keeping him could be complicated by the fact that his agent has already suggested that personal terms have been agreed with the Bundesliga outfit, as noted in the report above from the Sun, and so that would suggest that Xhaka has every intention of moving on.
With that in mind, much will depend on the terms of the offer and whether or not it’s enough to convince Arsenal to let their midfield ace go, as if it is on loan for six months initially, that may restrict them in terms of bringing in an immediate replacement in January.
Time will tell how the situation is resolved, but one thing that is certain at this stage is that the rumours surrounding Xhaka’s future at Arsenal don’t appear to be going anywhere.