Chelsea look set to miss out on Granit Xhaka as the Swiss midfielder has now confirmed that his plan is to stay at Sunderland this summer.<\/strong><\/p>\n The former Arsenal midfielder has been a top Chelsea target this summer, with his former manager Xabi Alonso keen to work with him again.<\/p>\n Xhaka had a star role under Alonso when they were together at Bayer Leverkusen, and it certainly could have made sense for them to be reunited to try to get this Chelsea project off the ground.<\/p>\n Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a <\/i><\/b>preferred source on Google<\/span><\/i><\/b> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Still, see below as Xhaka himself has given an interview making it clear that he\u2019s happy at Sunderland and that he and his family will be staying\u2026<\/p>\n Granit Xhaka confirmed to us on the @DAZN_ES buses that he will stay at Sunderland. Finally he will NOT go to Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea, a team for which he sounded very strong. Let’s remember that Xabi already trained him at Leverkusen and wanted him back in London. Despite the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/FCQmLDNA2M<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Javier Valle (@javivalle17) July 9, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cSunderland has been my home since day one. We are all very happy. I\u2019ve decided to stay where I am; the most important thing is family. I\u2019m ready to make history with them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not my job (to talk about Chelsea). I have my management for that. I want to concentrate fully on the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES \u2013 STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE<\/u><\/span> & GOOGLE PLAY<\/u><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n This is far from ideal for Alonso as he looks to get off to a strong start at Chelsea, with the Blues in need of more experience.<\/p>\n This is a youthful CFC squad and it won\u2019t be easy for Alonso to take over after the team\u2019s struggles last season under both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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Bringing in an experienced winner like Xhaka could really have helped Alonso implement his ideas and improve the mood around the club, but he\u2019ll now have to look for alternatives.<\/p>\n Chelsea have also been linked with Alex Scott by Simon Phillips, but that would be another young player being eyed for the long-term, rather than someone who could immediately add leadership and winning know-how to this side.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n
Who else could Chelsea sign in midfield?<\/h2>\n
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