The rumour that Jose Mourinho wants Granit Xhaka to be his top target for Roma this sumer has been rumbling on since the first day of the summer transfer window, but despite everyone saying that this was a done deal, the two clubs are still miles away from getting near to an agreement.
To me for Arsenal to sell their most consistent midfielder makes no sense at all, especially when they would have to pay much more for a like-for-like replacement.
But, according to Charlie Watts, who is a well-known Arsenal expert with insider knowledge, the deal could still go ahead, but only if Roma meet the Gunners valuation in full.
Watts said on his own YouTube channel: “Lots of talk over in Italy this its now getting closer and closer. But from what I understand this is still not a done deal,”
“I was speaking to someone at Arsenal yesterday about this and the feeling at Arsenal is that they have to pay up.
“They say they are not going to give Xhaka away for cheap. Arsenal are open to selling Xhaka and he clearly wants to go to Roma.
“There has been talk that he will be meeting up with Roma in their pre season training camp in Portugal next week but as far as I’m aware it’s not at the stage yet and they still haven’t agreed a fee with Arsenal.”
I can certainly understand that Granit Xhaka would like to move to Italy, where he will get a better rate of tax and a last big contract, but I still maintain that Arteta would be making a big mistake if he let him go on any terms.
The Swiss captain still has two years left on his contract, and after his immense performances at the Euros he is surely worth a LOT more than 20 million to any big team…
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