Inter Milan are preparing to make a move for Granit Xhaka if they aren’t able to land Toni Kroos from Real Madrid or Ivan Rakitic from Barcelona.

That’s how you know the summer is nearly upon us. Stuff like this.

Corriere dello Sport are reporting that Inter are hopeful that Toni Kroos will want to leave Real Madrid this summer and, if he doesn’t, Ivan Rakitic will want to leave Barcelona. If neither of those two things happens, then they’ll turn to Granit Xhaka.

I’m sure he feels so wanted.

Back in March, it was reported widely that Xhaka had hinted at using Arsenal as a stepping stone and that the club doesn’t have to be the last step on his career ladder.

A piece by Swiss outlet Tagblatt contained what appeared to be a quote from Granit Xhaka, saying “I’m very ambitious, I want to take the next step, Arsenal does not have to be the last stop”.

It was a very shareable line for those who can’t wait to take a swipe at the midfielder, but the lack of context calls the reliability of the words into question.

The piece was written like an interview but with very few quotes. The lines that do appear to be quotes, as above, appear in the middle of paragraphs that clearly aren’t.

Even then, arrow marks are used instead of quote marks, so it’s not completely clear whether this is a direct quotation, or paraphrasing, or a complete fabrication.

The section in question is about Xhaka investing real estate career. Without any context, it’s impossible to say if his ‘next step’ would be in another football club or in furthering his real estate portfolio after he’s done with football.

The fact is, Xhaka signed a new long-term deal with Arsenal last summer, reportedly lasting until 2023. He’ll be three months away from turning 31 by the time it ends, so there really isn’t any worry about him running down his deal.

Added to that, when it comes to the players Unai Emery trusts the most, he is right up there.