Transfer news: Bayer Leverkusen chief issues major update on Sunderland's Granit Xhaka pursuit

Sunderland's pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka looks set to be settled this week.

The former Arsenal midfielder has emerged as a key target for Sunderland this summer, and they made a significant breakthrough last week when the 32-year-old indicated his willingness to make the move. However, there has remained a gap in valuation between the two clubs that has prevented a deal from progressing to the final stages.

That remains the case, but Bayer Leverkusen's managing director for sport Simon Rolfes has confirmed that there is now an agreement in place with Xhaka and his advisors over the conditions which will allow a transfer to progress.

Xhaka played in a pre-season friendly on Sunday but Rolfes has confirmed that the club will not stand in his way if the asking price is met. If that does not happen this week, Rolfes has said that the player will stay.

"There will be a decision this week," Rolfes is quoted via Bild.

"Granit's side knows the conditions under which a transfer is possible. If that doesn't happen, he'll stay."

According to Bild, the asking price is around £17.5 million, including add-ons. That is a significant rise on Sunderland's opening bid and it remans to be seen what level the Black Cats will go to in the coming days.

A potential deal was thrown into further doubt last week when new head coach Erik ten Hag said he could not sanction the midfielder's departure, having already lost a handful of key players this summer. However, it looks as if Xhaka will be allowed to leave by the club providing the right bid arrives. Xhaka has three years left on his deal at the Bundesliga club, allowing them to take a firm stance on the terms of his departure.

What Régis Le Bris said about transfers after Sunderland's loss to Hearts

“All I can say right now is that we are trying our best to improve the team," Le Bris said.

"We will have to see what happens. If you look at the Hearts game, then it looks as though we are far away from where we need to be. That is clear. But at the same time, it is always a work in progress. Maybe you get a confidence against a certain type of team or a certain style of play, but then later, if you don’t play with the right level of intensity, you can be surprised, and I think the game against Hearts was part of that process. So it was useful. Tough, but useful. Then, when it comes to where the squad is at, we will see. It is still unpredictable, so we always have to manage the players we have and be confident with them. But at the same time, we are not naïve and we know we have to reinforce this squad to be stronger.”

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