Sunderland can forget Xhaka by breaking transfer record for £38m “monster”

Sunderland are continuing to break the bank as they go about assembling a Premier League-ready squad.

At the time of writing, an estimated £104m has already been spent on improving the quality of players Regis Le Bris has at his disposal, with £30m on its own being splashed on new club-record purchase Habib Diarra.

Staggeringly, although Diarra’s addition already significantly bolsters the Black Cats in the middle of the park, Granit Xhaka also appears to be on the ambitious shopping list, with his Premier League experience on the books of Arsenal one major factor as to why he’s potentially being pursued.

Sunderland’s ongoing hunt for Xhaka

Xhaka would enter the building with a mammoth 225 Premier League games next to his name, with a further 17 goals and 24 assists coming his way as a fiery, but attack-minded midfielder at the Emirates.

Therefore, it does feel like a no-brainer on Sunderland’s end to try and win the Switzerland international’s signature, considering reports seem to suggest that Bayer Leverkusen are open to selling Xhaka this summer.

That comes amid further claims earlier in the week that Black Cats officials had been in talks with Leverkusen concerning a deal for the midfielder.

Despite Xhaka’s emergence as a box-crashing midfielder during his final year with the club, it wasn’t always rosy for the 32-year-old in North London, with a poor disciplinary record of four red cards and 57 yellow cards sticking out when assessing his previous Premier League numbers in more detail.

Moreover, whilst he has shone out in Germany with Leverkusen over his past two seasons – as a Bundesliga title even came his way – it’s not a given that he will be able to dust off the Arsenal cobwebs effectively back in an environment he has found previously challenging, particularly if he now finds himself even more up against it in a relegation dog-fight.

Whilst on the surface, this looks as if it would be a sublime capture, Sunderland could shift their focus away from the 32-year-old by exploring another move.

Sunderland’s big-money Xhaka alternative

This alternate target is able to boast Premier League experience too, albeit just from far fewer games than Xhaka managed for the red half of North London.

Indeed, according to Fabrizio Romano via X, Sunderland made direct contact earlier in the week over a deal for ex-Fulham midfielder Frank Zambo-Anguissa, off the back of the 29-year-old continuing to stand out at Napoli with his consistent midfield displays.

Once upon a time, Anguissa called Craven Cottage home, with a mere three assists from 58 top-flight matches coming the Cameroonian’s way before Italy came calling.

Now, he has become a first-team regular in Naples, with his numbers from last season putting him on the same pedestal as Xhaka as a fierce, yet goal-hungry midfielder.

Amazingly, despite never finding the back of the net for Fulham, Anguissa actually bettered Xhaka in this department last season for Antonio Conte’s title-winners, alongside matching up to the 32-year-old’s attritional side with the same amount of duels won on average.

This bite in Anguissa’s game in Serie A was evident during his Premier League stay too, winning a high 7.3 duels per game across his final top-flight campaign for the Cottagers, which should stand him in good stead for a potential basement battle back on English shores.

Whilst the “monster” Anguissa – as he’s been glowingly labelled by analyst Raj Chohan – might cost a bumper £38m to get through the door, owing to his release clause, it feels as if this could be another golden signing from Europe that sends out a statement to the rest of the Premier League.

On the other hand, Xhaka feels like a far safer signing, as the Black Cats attempt to flex their muscles even more with sprinkles of immense quality.