Erik ten Hag is fighting a losing battle to retain the core of his Bayer Leverkusen team just weeks after taking the job.
And now he has shut the door on a key player completing his desired Premier League move in a bid to stop the exodus.
The former Manchester United boss has already lost three crucial cogs in Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, and Jonathan Tah.
It risks turning into a nightmare summer after Leverkusen, who won an unbeaten domestic double in 2023-24 under Xabi Alonso, lost Ten Hag’s first friendly 5-1 – to Flamengo’s under-20s.
And so the Dutchman has laid down the law to Granit Xhaka, who has reportedly been agitating over a move to Sunderland, as per The Athletic.
Xhaka, 32, left Arsenal two years ago but was close to completing a move to the Premier League newcomers, even reportedly agreeing personal terms.
Erik ten Hag has shut the door on Granit Xhaka leaving Bayer Leverkusen for Sunderland
The midfielder had reportedly agreed personal terms with the Premier League newcomers
But Ten Hag insists Leverkusen will not let any more important players go during this summer
But Ten Hag has now hit back via BILD: ‘His agent can say whatever he wants, but this club has already let three important players go, and we won’t let any more go.
‘Granit is a leader, he still has three years left on his contract here.
‘It’s clear – Granit is a key player, he signed here for five years and still has three years left on his contract.
‘He’s too important to us to let him go.’
It does not get much clearer than that and it is currently unknown how Xhaka has reacted to the statement.
Staying at Leverkusen would allow him to compete in the Champions League and perhaps challenge for silverware after they finished a distant second to Bayern Munich last season.
After losing Wirtz and Frimpong to Liverpool, Tah to Bayern, and indeed Alonso to the Real Madrid dugout, Leverkusen are experienced a change of the guard which could see a period of transition.
As per The Athletic, Xhaka has asked his employers to find a solution quickly to let him join Sunderland.
They have already sold Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool in big-money moves
Experienced Defender Jonathan Tah has also jumped ship to Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich
Xhaka was part of the team which won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal under Xabi Alonso
Ten Hag’s first friendly ended with a 5-1 defeat to Brazilian club Flamengo’s under-20s side
The potential move is somewhat of an eyebrow-raiser, given Xhaka’s importance to a club that is competing both domestically and in the Champions League.
He covered the third-most ground of any player in the Bundesliga in his debut season and had the league’s second-best pass completion rate.
It is, though, also seen as a sign of the ambition of Regis Le Bris’ side, who have already splashed out on Simon Adingra (£21million), Habib Diarra (£30m) and Enzo Le Fee (£20m).
They are looking to break the pattern of promoted teams being relegated at the first time of asking, having won the play-offs in the Championship last season.
All six of the promoted teams over the last two seasons have gone straight back down.
Xhaka, who often plays in a deeper midfield role, has so far played 99 times for Leverkusen in two years after spending seven at Arsenal.
Perhaps his most notable moment as a Gunners player was when he was booed off by fans at the Emirates as he egged them on. He took of his shirt and walked straight down the tunnel, and he was stripped of his role as captain.
That, though, was under Unai Emery. Xhaka and the fans rebuilt their relationship under Mikel Arteta and he left on good terms.
At the Stadium of Light, he could fill a void left by Jobe Bellingham, who left the club earlier in the summer for £32m.
The likes of Reinildo, Noah Sadiki and Chemsdine Talbi have also joined Sunderland .
