Granit Xhaka hopes to hold talks with Borussia Monchengladbach today as he looks to complete his move to Arsenal ahead of the European Championships.
Arsenal last week submitted a £33.8m offer for the 23-year-old midfielder in a bid to secure a swift deal for Xhaka, who has swiftly emerged as the Gunners’ first priority as they plot their summer transfer business.
Xhaka received a standing ovation from Monchengladbach fans on Saturday in what appeared to be his final game at the club. He was substituted in the 83rd minute having set up Thorgan Hazard’s opener in a 2-0 win over Darmstadt that secured a Champions League qualifier for Die Fohlen.
Speaking after the game Xhaka confirmed that he would discuss his future with sporting director Max Eberl today as he looks ahead to Euro 2016, where a young Switzerland side including Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri will be confident of making the knockout stages.
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“The season’s over now and there might be discussions tomorrow regarding the matter, we will make it together,” Xhaka yesterday said to Rheinische Post. “The decision will definitely be before the European Championships.
“I’m the wrong person to be asked [about a possible move], you might need to check that with [sporting director] Max Eberl.
“I’ll return to Borussia-Park [in the future], but as I said, nothing is clear yet.”
Monchengladbach have seemingly abandoned hope that they will be able to keep Xhaka beyond the end of the season and are also set to lose fellow midfielder Havard Nordtveit, who is expected to announce he has signed for West Ham on the expiry of his contract.
Earlier this week Eberl told Kicker that whilst his club would continue to “fight for Granit” they acknowledged that he had attracted the interest of bigger clubs than Monchengladbach.
He said: “There are clubs that can offer an even bigger chance of playing Champions League and competing for titles and trophies.”
