Xhaka poker begins: Neom SC contacts Bayer
Neom SC from Saudi Arabia is serious about its bid to sign Granit Xhaka and has contacted Bayer 04. The poker game begins – with impressive performances from the Bundesliga club.
Granit Xhaka's departure is on the cards. NEOM SC from Saudi Arabia is tempting Bayer's midfield strategist. Picture alliance/dpa/Revierfoto
Is Granit Xhaka moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Neom SC in the Saudi Pro League? After the Saudi Arabians apparently approached the player's side on Friday to explore the possibilities and conditions of a transfer, the topic gained momentum on Sunday evening.
The extremely well-heeled promoted team has now contacted the German runner-up to buy out the Swiss, who is still tied to the factory club until 2028. And despite Xhaka's sporting importance to the factory club, there are good strategic and economic arguments for Bayer 04 to let the team's biggest leader leave three years before the end of his contract.
Bayer wants at least 20 million eurosThe club, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund PIF and therefore has virtually unlimited funds, had not yet submitted an offer by late Sunday evening. What is certain is that Bayer 04 will enter the transfer negotiations with impressive expectations.
A sum in the region of €20 million, the same amount as Bayer paid, including bonuses, for Xhaka's transfer from Arsenal to Leverkusen in 2023, is considered a reasonable starting point for any talks. It will be interesting to see whether the Saudi Arabians are truly willing to pay this without batting an eyelid.
Xhaka already likes the Neom SC accountAccording to kicker, an agreement between Xhaka and Neom SC had not yet been reached as of late Sunday evening. Nevertheless, the Swiss record international is clearly already very close to his potential new employer mentally. The 32-year-old "liked" a photo of Christophe Galtier introducing himself as the new Neom coach on the club's Instagram account, and the entire Neom SC account has already received the same rating from Xhaka.
On Sunday evening, it was clearly announced that Xhaka would logically join Leverkusen's training camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday, as no offer has been received for the midfield strategist. If that changes during the course of Monday, the Bayer delegation could depart for Rio without Granit Xhaka.
kicker
