With an important Euros match against France around the corner, Granit Xhaka has other things on his mind than his club future at this moment in time, and yet, he’s made it clear Arsenal knows what he wants.
And what that is, it seems, is a transfer away from the Emirates to AS Roma, where José Mourinho is ready to welcome him with open arms.
He’s not outright said where he wants to go, but the Italian press are adamant that a transfer is around the corner, especially since the agreement with the Swiss midfielder was already found around a month ago.
All that’s missing, according to Corriere dello Sport, is ‘the contract that certifies’ the move to Roma, and for that to happen, only ‘a couple of million’ euros are needed to meet demands.
The belief is that Xhaka and Rui Patricio, the other main target, ‘will arrive by the end of July’, but ‘it isn’t easy to buy capital from the Premier League’, described as a ‘parallel world where clubs are almost never forced to sell’.
It’s true that Arsenal aren’t obliged to get rid of Xhaka per se, but despite a big role under Mikel Arteta last year, it appears the player is keen to try something new after five years in north London.