Charles Watts has claimed that Roma’s hopes of signing Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka look slim on his understanding.
The Swiss international is believed to be a target for Jose Mourinho with new side Roma FC, with the Portuguese claimed to be a fan of the midfielder’s talents.
With that in mind, reports in Italy are claiming they are interested in striking a deal to bring Xhaka to Serie A, but the supposed £15 Million fee is unlikely to tempt Arsenal into selling.
Watts told the Arsenal Transfer Talk podcast: “Price is certainly going to be an issue at the moment because Roma want to pay under £15m, or around the £15m mark, according to sources over in Italy. But I can’t imagine that is going to be enough to tempt Arsenal into doing business.
“Now, I don’t know what price tag Arsenal have set on Xhaka, if they even have set a price tag on Xhaka, but £15m, to me, does not sound enough for a player who’s Switzerland’s international captain, he’s in his prime.
“If you’re going to shake things up, if you’re going to turn things around at Arsenal, if you’re going to try and bring the club back up to competing towards the top, then you have to change your team, and you’ve got to say Granit Xhaka has been part of this team that has completely failed to achieve at times.”
While the 28 year-old was recently named in the CIES Premier League Team of the Season, the midfielder is regularly criticised by Arsenal fans, and I struggle to believe that there would be any protest against his potential exit.
The CM role is one we are expected to invest in this summer regardless of Xhaka’s move, with Dani Ceballos already returning to Real Madrid, although Joe Willock has shown that he could well step-up next season after a thoroughly impressive loan spell in Newcastle.
Is now the right time to move Xhaka on? Should Arsenal consider selling for £15 Million?
Patrick
15 million sounds a bit less for Xhaka, even in this Covid environment. In my opinion, Arsenal may deal for something around 22 million pounds, as they should be able to get a good replacement in that money as well. There certainly are better options than Xhaka available out there.