Chelsea former Arsenal bid branded ‘insulting’

Sunderland have blasted Chelsea for a disrespectful and insulting £8m bid for Granit Xhaka, telling the London club the former Arsenal midfielder isn’t for sale at any price.

Following reports of Chelsea interest in Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka over the last few days, David Ornstein broke the news for The Athletic on Sunday that the midfielder’s current club had rejected an £8m bid from the Blues to sign the former Arsenal man.

Sunderland deem the offer to be unacceptable and view the approach as ‘lacking respect’, both for the player and his club.

The Black Cats reportedly now say there is no intention of sanctioning Xhaka’s exit, no further offers will be entertained, and that the player’s two-year contract should be respected.

Kieran Gill adds for the Daily Mail that sources close to Sunderland claim the club view Chelsea’s £8m offer as ‘insulting’.

That could lead to major complications if Chelsea really want to complete the signing, as both Ornstein’s report and the Mail’s suggest that Chelsea believe the £8m proposal was a fair one.

CBS Sports’ James Benge suggested last week that Xhaka has proved to be worth much more to Sunderland than the £17m they paid for him, so Chelsea’s attempt to sign him for less than half of that price was always likely to fail.

Based on a £17m fee and a three-year contract, Xhaka’s book value would around £11m right now. So Chelsea are asking Sunderland to take a loss on him in the accounts.

Xhaka turns 34 in September, so he’s very much in the latter stages of his playing career. But even so, there’s really no reason for Sunderland to accept such a lowball offer, nor to continue negotiations.

That reportedly won’t stop Chelsea, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that they’re planning a new approach to sign Xhaka anyway.

Romano had previously reported that Xhaka wants to join Chelsea and reunite with Xabi Alonso. It remains to be seen whether he gets his wish.

• Mikel Arteta’s Unstoppable Red Machine
  Arsenal’s away record tells the story of a side transformed under Mikel Arteta, with Anfield providing the latest evidence of a harder, more ruthless team.
• Arsenal revive interest in Kroupi ahead of January window
  Arsenal are reportedly ready to revive their interest in Eli Junior Kroupi, but Bournemouth are reluctant to sell the forward during the January window.
• Former Arsenal youngster’s star wanes as goalscoring dries up
  Former Arsenal striker Mika Biereth is struggling for minutes at Monaco after his explosive start in France, with his future now increasingly uncertain.
• Arsenal manager and players up for Premier League monthly awards
  Recognition has followed Arsenal’s perfect October, with three key figures now in the running for Premier League awards.
• Arsenal v Hull VAR is unwelcome appointment
  Michael Oliver will be on VAR for Arsenal against Hull City, an appointment likely to revive memories of some of his most controversial Gunners decisions.