According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Jose Mourinho has turned to Arsenal on his hunt for the first player he’d like to sign for new club Roma.
It’s reported that Mourinho would like to recruit Granit Xhaka from his old rivals Arsenal, as he prepares to lead Roma from this summer, having only been sacked by Spurs less than two months ago.
Di Marzio add that Arsenal value Xhaka at €25m with both sides continuing to work on a deal right now.
Xhaka has endured some real troubles at the Emirates Stadium since arriving for a fee of £35m before Euro 2016, per BBC Sport, and has attracted fierce criticism from fans and pundits alike over the years.
It’s actually reported that Roma have already accepted Mourinho’s request and are now looking to reach an agreement with Xhaka, whilst they hope to negotiate a deal worth under €20m – including bonuses.
Granit Xhaka has chances to leave Arsenal this summer as Willian, Hector Bellerin and many other players. ? #AFC
AS Roma are interested in signing him and have opened talks with his agents, José Mourinho wants him – also Bundesliga clubs are in the race. @DiMarzio ? #Xhaka
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 27, 2021
Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has also shared the bombshell news, adding that talks have been opened with the agent of Xhaka and that Bundesliga clubs are also keen on the 28-year-old.
Whilst Xhaka has often been public enemy No.1 for the Arsenal fanbase, the ace has been a key player for the Gunners ever since he joined, with the exception of his brief castaway after swearing at the side’s own fans, which saw him stripped of the captaincy.
Arsenal appear to have the chance to recoup some cash for a player, who despite coming off the back of a relatively better campaign, clearly isn’t capable of steering the side back to glory.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 make it happen
Like a dream coming true. Get it over the line. ‘I THANK HIM FOR ALL THESE YEARS’ Goodluck Xhaka.
Letting Xhaka leave shows how confused the Arteta team is. How can Arteta do that?
There should be a foundation on which to build, of at least half of the old team.
that’s why leaving Arteta in Arsenal means they will sink further than now.
Always a surprise that all our best players are always worth only between £10m and £35m each. And we are always willing to accept far below each players worth. On the other hand all our targets are always worth £40m to £65m even if they played in Championship or Ligue 2. Xhaka will go for 18m and his replacement, with uncertain quality, comes in at 40m. How are other teams able to price better and insist? Are all our players that bad?