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According to the rumour mongers, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has made Borussia Monchengladbach’s star midfielder Granit Xhaka the club’s top transfer target for the summer. With supposed competition from just about every other club in top half in England, it looks to be a tough ask.
Manchester City in particular are believed to have also identified him as a key signing for incoming manager Pep Guardiola, and given their money and their new manager, if true they would have to be classed favourites for Xhaka’s signature. There’s only one problem, though. Nobody’s approached his current club yet.
"There have been claims that Inter Milan and all these English clubs are interested in him," said Monchengladbach manager Max Eberl this week when asked about a recent spate of rumours linking Xhaka with a move to one of Liverpool, City, Arsenal, or Inter. "But we’ve not received a single offer."
None of which means other clubs might not be interested in him—given the versatile powerhouse midfielder is one of the game’s best at only 23 years of age, the likes of City and Liverpool would be crazy not to at least be interested. But any interest, perhaps, is at a far less advanced stage than some have claimed.
If you’re a Liverpool fan looking for a silver lining, of course, that also means that if the club moves quickly they just might be able to beat the others to the punch for Xhaka, which might be the only way they could beat City and Guardiola to him if the big spenders truly are plotting a summer move.