Chelsea want Granit Xhaka to copy Romelu Lukaku and force summer transfer

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Chelsea are very keen on signing Granit Xhaka from Sunderland this summer, and they want him to make his desire to join them public.

The Blues are reluctantly pushing to bring in the experienced midfielder at the request of Xabi Alonso, who has spotted the need for experienced players in the Chelsea squad.

The Switzerland international has already made his desire to move to Stamford Bridge clear, but so far this has not moved Sunderland to wanting to negotiate.

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Chelsea want Granit Xhaka to publicly ask to leave Sunderland

In fact, the Black Cats outright refused Chelsea’s first offer, although a second bid is expected to follow very soon.

If that fails, Simon Phillips has stated that Chelsea will want Xhaka to go public with his demands to leave in order to put pressure on their fellow Premier League club to sell to them.

He said on Substack: “The only reason they [Sunderland] are even talking to Chelsea is because he has said he wants to go to Chelsea. The next point of call to make this happen is Xhaka himself will publicly, or threaten to go public, and ask to leave, and that he would like Sunderland to acknowledge that and let him go.

“We will have to see if that happens, because that is the next step. If that doesn’t happen, I don’t think Chelsea will sign him, but if that does happen then there’s a chance.”

It is a tactic that has been used before by sides to confirm transfers, and the Blues have been stung by this before.

Chelsea want Xhaka to copy Romelu Lukaku’s methods of leaving

Romelu Lukaku went public just months after joining the Blues for a then-record fee that he was not happy working under Thomas Tuchel.

The Belgian expressed his desire to return to Inter Milan, a move that he would eventually get on loan in 2022.

This interview derailed his time at Stamford Bridge completely, and left the club unwilling to continue to build around him after he had burned that bridge.

In the current Chelsea squad, Filip Jorgensen has made his desire to leave the Blues public, and is expected to get his move away from West London this summer.