Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris has confirmed captain Granit Xhaka will stay at the club this summer, insisting the saga linking him to a potential move to Chelsea is “closed.”
Xhaka joined Sunderland in a £17.2million ($22.9m) deal from Bayer Leverkusen last summer and was their standout performer as they qualified for the Europa League.
Last month, sources told ESPN that Chelsea were exploring a deal to sign the 33-year-old, who worked under the club’s new manager Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen.
However, Sunderland have maintained they do not want to sell their captain and Le Bris settled the matter emphatically after his side’s 4-2 preseason defeat to Liverpool in Nashville.
“No, this topic is closed,” Le Bris said on Saturday. “He has been really clear about his future. He loves Sunderland, he wants to stay in Sunderland. He wants to make the future of Sunderland. He is a good captain. Great leader.”
After returning to the Premier League via the playoffs last season, Sunderland defied expectation to secure a seventh-place finish in the top flight.
Discussing the club’s transfer policy this summer, Le Bris added: “It’s going to be quiet. Under the radar, right? I won’t give you information. Because I think we are working hard behind the scenes, and it’s really important to be quiet because otherwise it’s a mess.
“And we are looking at probably a different transfer window if you compare with last season. We had to sign 14 new players. It won’t be the case this year. We’ll see what will happen.”
