Out of nowhere, Chelsea want to sign Granit Xhaka.
The Blues have already been busy in this summer window. Marc Cucurella was sold to Real Madrid for £52 million before an agreement with Atalanta was reached for Marco Palestra.
There is also huge uncertainty over the future of Enzo Fernandez with Real Madrid expected to make a offer if they can offload one of their own midfielders.
Although Barcelona's Frenkie De Jong has been linked with replacing the Argentine at Stamford Bridge, more recent reports suggest the soon-to-arrive Xabi Alonso wants a different name.
Chelsea want to sign Sunderland's Granit Xhaka
Interestingly, according to Sky Sports News, the Blues have shortlisted Granit Xhaka for this summer.
The 33-year-old enjoyed a great season with Sunderland. He was the centrepiece in Regis Le Bris' team and the driving force behind the Black Cats' European qualification.
Even though Xhaka is no stranger to Premier League football having also spent seven years at Arsenal, it was under Alonso in the Bundesliga that his stock rose highest.
The Switzerland international was a key figure in Bayer Leverkusen's stunning unbeaten Bundesliga title win in 2024; a campaign that earned him the right to return to England's top flight.
Now at Sunderland, Xhaka, who has two years left on his deal, is widely regarded as one of Europe's most important and experienced central midfielders, and that know-how as well as his history of working with Alonso is the reason why the Blues' new manager wants him again.
Xabi Alonso says Xhaka reminds him of himself
Even though these links have come from nowhere and surprised some supporters, Alonso's past comments mean his interest make a lot more sense.
The 44-year-old loves the former Arsenal captain. Speaking to BILD (via Koha) after Bayer Leverkusen signed him in 2023, Alonso said: "Granit is a fantastic player and a leader on the field.
"It will be of great help to our team in the new edition. Of course, we all expect a lot from him, given his experience and the performances he had with the Arsenal shirt."
And going onto predict what the future could look like for the 33-year-old midfielder, Alonso feels there are a lot of similarities between the pair due to Xhaka's ability to coach others.
"I can see it in his eyes that he always wants to learn," he added.
"It reminds me of the final stage of my own playing career. He wants to become a coach, and you can clearly see that. I think he will be a great coach."
Realistically, Xhaka has a few more years left playing before he inevitably hangs his boots up, but having already started working to gain his coaching badges, it seems a coaching role is what he wants to do after retirement, and who knows, that could be at Chelsea.
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