Soon after Granit Xhaka turned in a Man of the Match display that helped Switzerland upset the odds and knock France out of the Euros, news of a transfer bid for the Arsenal man was shared.
Angelo Mangiante of Sky Sports Italy reported that Roma have now made an official bid for the central midfielder, but it is quite a low-ball one of €12m plus €3m in potential add-ons.
Xhaka is expected to leave the Gunners this summer as they look to reshape their midfield and find a better partner for Thomas Partey, who struggled in his debut season after a big-money move.
Xhaka himself has teased an exit, with comments like this after the Swiss beat the French on penalties and also some other flattering talk specifically about Rome.
Some Arsenal fans have been completely taken aback by Mangiante’s update as the journalist reports that the 28-year-old is ‘very close’ to sealing a switch to side Jose Mourinho is about to take charge of.
A couple have called for the immediate sacking of technical director Edu Gaspar if the relatively low bid is accepted, considering the impact Xhaka is making at the Euros right now.
Here is how some of the Arsenal faithful have reacted to the bid for Xhaka:
Some fans are pretty spot on with their commentary on the potential deal, whilst Arsenal would free themselves of Xhaka’s £100,000-a-week wages (per the Standard), a replacement of lesser experience and relatively unproven quality would likely cost them a higher transfer fee than they’d receive.
The swoop for Albert Sambi Lokonga for example, which is close to being completed, would cost the Gunners around €17.5m plus €4m or so in add-ons, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Xhaka has played a key role for the Gunners since his €35m arrival in 2016, per BBC Sport, the ace didn’t even spend that much time on the sidelines after the outburst that saw him stripped of the captaincy.
Arsenal should not stoop so desperately low to part with a player, who despite having failed to live up to his price-tag since joining and being behind costly mistakes, who can still play a smaller role in the team.