Xhaka Makes Arsenal Exit, Joins Bayer Leverkusen in £21.5m Move
Granit Xhaka COMPLETES Arsenal exit with £21.5m transfer to Bayer Leverkusen… as the Gunners prepare to finalize £105m Rice and £40m Timber transfers on Friday.
Bayer Leverkusen has announced the acquisition of Granit Xhaka from Arsenal.
The Bundesliga club acquired the Swiss player for £21.5 million on Thursday.
Premier League club hopes to finalize Declan Rice's £105 million transfer on Friday. Thursday marked the completion of Granit Xhaka’s £21.5 million transfer from Arsenal to Bayer Leverkusen.
The Swiss central midfielder agreed to a five-year agreement the day before the English club hopes to finalize a club-record £105 million deal for Declan Rice.
After joining the Gunners from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2016, Xhaka played 297 times in all competitions, netting 23 goals.
Former captain of the north London club, he had one year remaining on his contract but was expected to depart in this transfer window due to Arsenal’s pursuit of Rice and the club’s desire to raise funds.
He stated, “I am intimately familiar with the league because I followed it while in London.” Bayer 04 is a club with a distinguished past and ambitious goals.
Granit Xhaka’s transfer from Arsenal to Bayer Leverkusen for £21.5 million is complete.
Switzerland’s 30-year-old central midfielder Xhaka will don the same number he wore at Arsenal.
It was disclosed the day before the Gunners hoped to sign Declan Rice for £105 million.
“Above all, I see it as a club with a great future. Discussions with the management have been incredibly motivating. Everybody here is ambitious and wants to achieve something – I’m very much looking forward to the next few years.”
Simon Rolfes, the sporting managing director of Leverkusen, added, “In Granit, we were able to acquire a truly elite player.”
“His ability on the pitch is well known. But, above all, there are few players who are able to so convincingly lead a team like he does thanks to his outstanding mentality and personality.”
The previous season, Xhaka helped Mikel Arteta’s squad finish second in the Premier League, behind Manchester City.
On Friday morning, Ajax defender Jurrien Timber will undergo a medical examination prior to concluding his £40 million transfer to Arsenal.
Rice will undertake a physical examination on Friday before finalizing his record-breaking £105 million transfer from West Ham.
Xhaka Makes Arsenal Exit, Joins Bayer Leverkusen in £21.5m Move
