Granit Xhaka is closing in on a move away from Premier League giants Arsenal with Calciomercato reporting the midfielder has been offered a four-year deal worth £40,000 a week by Roma.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners appear to have stumbled into that unfortunate habit of overpaying for new players while letting others go for far less than their market value.
Since appointing former midfielder Edu as technical director, the likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Sokratis Papastathopoulos – four players who set the club back more than £100 million combined – have all left the Emirates for free.
So while Edu deserves credit for successfully trimming the fat, it’s difficult to dispel the notion that getting a good deal for unwanted players is hardly Arsenal’s forte.
And while the three-time Premier League champions look set to bring in a decent fee for Xhaka, it will still be far less than the £30 million Arsene Wenger handed over to Borussia Monchengladbach for him five years ago.
Xhaka transfer – will Arsenal replace him with Neves?
Calciomercato reports the Switzerland international is edging ever closer to a move to the Italian capital, although Roma have so far failed to match Arsenal’s £18 million demands.
Xhaka has been offered a four-year deal at the Stadio Olimpico, worth more than £2 million a season.
That would see the 28-year-old take home a weekly wage in the region of £40,000.
If reports are to be believed, that’s far less than the eye-watering £100,000-a-week pay packet Xhaka is understood to earn at Arsenal (Spotrac).
Xhaka willing to see wages slashed
It seems Xhaka is willing to take a substantial pay cut to bring an end to an Arsenal career that has included its fair share of flashpoints.
The question is, however, who would replace the former Gunners captain in Mikel Arteta’s midfield?
An £18 million windfall would give Arsenal’s coffers a timely boost as they look to strike a deal for the likes of Manuel Locatelli, Ruben Neves or Sambi Lokonga.
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