Arsenal leading the race to sign long-term Liverpool target this summer

Apr 11, 2016 at 2:29 PM

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Arsenal leading the race to sign long-term Liverpool target this summer

Arsenal have finally stepped up their attempts to sign Bundesliga’s highly-rated midfielder Granit Xhaka, according to a report from Daily Star.

Liverpool are also heavily linked with the midfielder as Klopp is a big fan of the 23-year old from his time at Borussia Dortmund and is understood to be keen on bringing him to Anfield this summer.

A growing number of injuries have bought Liverpool boss Klopp under severe pressure this season as the German manager has revealed that he needs to spend this summer to keep their hopes high for next season also.

The Gunners have already made contact with the Swiss star’s club Borussia Monchengladbach and tabled an opening offer worth around £24m.

But Monchengladbach are still holding out for £32m. Arsenal, however, are believed to be confident enough to reach an agreement with the Bundesliga outfits.

Last month also reports from Germany claimed Arsene Wenger has already met with the Switzerland international’s father to discuss details about a potential summer move.

The North Londoner’s early move is clearly a sign of their intention to try to get the deal done for Xhaka as soon as possible.

And the reported fee would also be a statement of intent.

Wenger has so far signed just 2 players for higher than his bid for Xhaka – Mesut Ozil for £42.5m and Alexis Sanchez for £32m.

The Swish midfielder has emerged as one of Wenger’s potential midfield targets with Mathieu Flamini, Tomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta all believed to be leaving this summer.

Xhaka is famous for his leadership qualities and passing ability.

Despite being just 23 years old, he has plenty of experience having played 40 times already for his country and appeared in over 200 club games for Swiss outfit Basel and Monchengladbach.

And Wenger has been a huge admirer of Xhaka after having watched him more than 30 times this season.

He already signed Egyptian midfielder Elneny to bolster his midfield options but that seems not enough as he is still chasing another one.

The highly-rated midfielder emerged as one of the Bundesliga’s most talented midfielders since he arrived at Borussia Monchengladbach in 2012.

Regarded as of the jewels of Swiss football since his teenage years, Xhaka’s idol was Zinedine Zidane but former national team boss Ottmar Hitzfeld prefers to compare him to a “young Schweinsteiger” instead.

Xhaka is intelligent in possession, composed on the ball, and always keeps things ticking over for his club with an 85 percent pass completion percentage this term, second best on the team.

He consistently ranks in the top 30 Bundesliga players for tackles and interceptions per match. However this combative style has landed him in disciplinary trouble too, with Xhaka leading the league in fouls per game (2.8), and red cards (3).

He is not a regular scorer, just three this season so far, but when he scores they are stunners. Xhaka has won Gladbach’s Goal of the Year each of the past two years, first for his free-kick against Villarreal in the Europa League in 2014, and last year for his derby winner against Cologne.

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