Granit Xhaka’s proposed move to Roma has been on hold after the Italian side refused to meet Arsenal’s requested price for the midfielder.
Xhaka has been expected to switch Arsenal to Roma for a couple of weeks now, with everyone involved eager to get the deal done. At the same time, the fact that the Gunners were actively seeking a replacement meant that they were convinced a deal would soon be struck.
According to a handful of outlets in Italy, it has gone down pretty quickly because Arsenal have refused to give up their 17 million pounds for the Swiss midfield.
First, we had Il Romanista’s proposal that the deal had been “fossilized to a total deadlock”. Roma have refused to come over 13 million pounds while Arsenal remain steady at 17 million pounds, and it has reached a point where things can break completely.
Since then, it has been backed by La Stampa (via the Daily Mail), who goes so far as to say that “everything has ended” between the two clubs and Xhaka is now facing the prospect of having to report for the season with Arsenal.
Xhaka is believed to be determined to leave Arsenal and has made it clear that he does not want to join the camp before the season, but with how it goes, he can have no choice but to do just that.
Xhaka will be unhappy with this, but there will be even more frustration from Roma boss Jose Mourinho, who made it clear from day one that he joined Roma that he wanted Xhaka as his first signing.
Mourinho wanted the Xhaka deal done several weeks ago but has had to wait so long, and it now looks like he can not even get his husband at all. I’m sure it’s going to go well.
Mourinho is very concerned about Xhaka / Luciano Rossi / Getty Images
With so much time left in the transfer window, there is a good chance that this deal may restart and Xhaka may stop getting what he wants, but at the moment it looks unlikely.
If Arsenal can not download Xhaka, they may have to give up plans to get a new midfielder. The Gunners had looked at Lyon’s Houssem Aouar, Wolves’ Ruben Neves and Brighton’s Yves Bissouma to replace Xhaka, but movements for either of them seem unlikely while Xhaka remains in the book.
