Granit Xhaka returned to the Premier League, signing a three-year deal with newly promoted Sunderland.
The 32-year-old midfielder returns after his stint with Bayer Leverkusen, where he played a key role in their historic Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2024. Prior to his time in Germany, he also spent seven seasons at Arsenal, winning two FA Cups.
At Sunderland, Xhaka is expected to bring leadership and experience as the club aims to avoid relegation in their first season back in the top flight. The club fought tooth and nail as they took the fourth spot in the Championship points table. They finally secured promotion after beating Sheffield United in the final after taking a 2-1 win at the Wembley Stadium in May, earlier this year.
“I’m very proud to be here. When I spoke to the Club, I was excited, and I felt the energy and the mentality that all the people and players have. It’s exactly what I wanted, and I have a very good feeling. We are back to where this Club needs to be, and we want to stay here to write our own history. I feel that I’m ready to help the team with my experience but with quality as well. We need to find ourselves on the pitch, but I don’t think this will be a big problem. It’s been a long time to wait, but I’m here now and I’m looking forward to it,” he said as seen in the club’s official announcement.
Xhaka is the current captain of Switzerland, with 137 international caps to his name. The club have already made quite a few signings with the likes of Simon Adingra from Brighton, Enzo Le Fee from AS Roma and Reinildo Mandava from Atletico Madrid to name a few.
Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman hailed the signing as a statement of intent. “His accomplishments and quality need little introduction – he’s a player of the highest calibre on and off the field. This is a significant endorsement of our ambition and our desire to build a team our supporters can be proud of in the Premier League.”
Sunderland will open their league stage campaign with a home game against West Ham United on August 16, next month.