Granit Xhaka has been heavily linked with a move away from Arsenal all summer and it seems he is now personally trying to speed up a deal.
Corriere Dello Sport say Xhaka is pushing for Arsenal to accept Roma’s offer to enable him to end his time in London.
They say Xhaka sees a link-up with new Roma boss Jose Mourinho as an ‘unmissable opportunity’. Not something that will likely go down well with Arsenal fans.
But it does feel like the perfect time for a natural parting of the ways between Arsenal and Xhaka. It is understandable however that the Gunners do not want to accept a low fee for a player who does bring a lot of quality.
Arsenal rejected a £12.9million offer from Roma last week (BBC). The club signed Xhaka for £35million back in 2016 and he still has two years remaining on his contract. Arsenal will be looking for a bid of around £20million to part with their former captain.
Last month, we brought you the news from Italy that Xhaka was seemingly very close to a move to Roma. Nearly a month later Xhaka is still an Arsenal player, so whilst it is clear the deal was not as close as previously thought, there is a feeling this one will still happen.
Xhaka, who has been capped 95 times and counting for Switzerland, is pushing for a move away now and Arsenal may be forced to drop their demands.
Granit is currently competing at the European Championships for Switzerland and this may be holding up a deal. His side though have just one point from their opening two games so he could be coming home in a week or so if they are not able to beat Turkey in their final fixture tomorrow.