Ex-Man United boss Erik ten Hag is set to see another key player depart Bayer Levekusen amid a difficult summer for the Bundesliga club
Bayer Leverkusen head coach Erik ten Hag(Image: Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)
Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag looks set to lose a key player at Bayer Leverkusen after Granit Xhaka reached an agreement to join Premier League newcomers Sunderland.
The 32-year-old has spent the past two seasons in the Bundesliga after joining Leverkusen from Arsenal in 2023.
However, the Switzerland international’s agent has now revealed that the player wants to leave Leverkusen and return to the Premier League.
Speaking to Sky Sports Germany, Jose Noguera, Xhaka’s agent, said: “We’ve reached an agreement in principle with Sunderland.
“Granit wants to return to the Premier League. Sunderland excites him – he wants to take on this challenge. We hope Leverkusen will respect his wish to leave and that the clubs will find an agreement soon.”
Should Xhaka get his move and seal a return to the Premier League this summer, it would represent a significant blow for new Leverkusen manager Ten Hag.
Since succeeding Xabi Alonso at the BayArena last month, Ten Hag has seen several members of the Leverkusen squad that won the Bundesliga title in 2024 depart – including Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Jonathan Tah.
Xhaka, too, was an instrumental part of that side, featuring in 33 out of the 34 Bundesliga games as Leverkusen became the first team since Borussia Dortmund in 2012 to dethrone Bayern Munich.
In fact, during his time at Leverkusen, Xhaka has started 66 out of a possible 68 Bundesliga games for Leverkusen.
Now, his exit will cause further a headache for Ten Hag as he aims to rebuild the side.
Should Xhaka complete his move to Sunderland, he could come up against United at Old Trafford on October 4th and at the Stadium of Light of on May 9th.
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