Chelsea have had an £8million offer for Granit Xhaka firmly rejected by Sunderland, who are furious at the approach from the London club.

The Black Cats believe the bid is well wide of the mark and have made clear that the Swiss international will not be sold this summer at any price.

Xhaka joined Sunderland last summer and played a pivotal role in the club’s Europa League qualification following their promotion to the Premier League.

The midfielder still has two years remaining on his contract at the Stadium of Light, giving Sunderland significant leverage in any potential negotiations.

Chelsea’s interest stems largely from the appointment of Xabi Alonso as their new manager, with Xhaka having previously thrived under the Spaniard at Bayer Leverkusen.

The pair shared two hugely successful seasons together, during which Leverkusen won the Bundesliga title without losing a single league match, lifted the DFB-Pokal, and reached the Europa League final.

Xhaka holds Alonso in exceptionally high regard and has previously spoken glowingly about the manager’s approach to handling players and his squad rotation philosophy.

The midfielder once said: “He is not a coach that is looking out for the names or status of players, in terms of who is older or younger, or who has played more games.”

He added: “During the week, he is thinking about who deserves to play at the weekend because they are training well. He gives every player the chance to prove their importance to the team.”

Xhaka also credited Alonso’s playing career as a major factor in the trust players place in him, saying: “He has this experience as a player to give confidence to everyone. That’s why we performed like this as well.”

Given that Xhaka is set to turn 34 in September, it remains unlikely that Chelsea would be willing to pay a significant premium for his services.

It has been a turbulent summer at Stamford Bridge, with Marc Cucurella already departing to join Real Madrid and Enzo Fernandez potentially following him to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Chelsea are also dealing with interest from Como for defender Trevoh Chalobah, while they have agreed a deal to sign Atalanta right-back Marco Palestra.

The club’s pursuit of Xhaka reflects the ambition Alonso is bringing to west London, even if this particular transfer looks difficult to complete given Sunderland’s firm stance.

The post Sunderland Reject Chelsea’s £8Million Bid For Granit Xhaka And Insist Midfielder Is Not For Sale appeared first on Gooner Daily.