Mourinho eyes Granit Xhaka as first Roma reinforcement – report

Granit Xhaka has emerged as one of Roma’s priority midfield targets under the instruction of Jose Mourinho, reports claim.

Roma are looking to find the ideal midfield partner for Jordan Veretout ahead of Mourinho’s arrival at the club and a number of names have been linked.

But the first “real” objective for the position, according to Sky Sport, is Arsenal’s Xhaka.

La Roma tratta #Xhaka dell’Arsenal trattativa in corso e ottimismo.
Chiesti 25 milioni, si lavorerà per chiudere a meno e si sta nel frattempo trovando intesa contratto col giocatore.
Chiesto da Mourinho e primo nome “vero” di trattativa reale. @SkySport @DiMarzio

— Angelo Mangiante (@angelomangiante) May 27, 2021

The Swiss international previously served as Arsenal’s captain but was never a popular choice among their fans. Now, it seems his future could lie away from the English capital.

Mourinho has always been a fan of the 28-year-old and now could be the time for them to unite.

Arsenal will want €25m to sanction the sale of Xhaka, but Roma will try to reduce that fee in the negotiations. While they are doing so, they hope to be able to tempt the player into agreeing personal terms.

There is said to be “optimism” that a deal can be done and Xhaka could become one of Mourinho’s first signings at Roma.

The likes of Gervinho, Wojciech Szczesny and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have all switched Arsenal for Roma in recent years and fared better in Italy than in England, so Xhaka would hope to follow suit if he made the move.

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