Chelsea interested in signing Xhaka

Chelsea are interested in a move for Sunderland's Granit Xhaka; the 33-year-old worked with new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen; Xhaka helped secure European football for Sunderland by beating Chelsea on the final day, he would join a squad with an average age of 23.8

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>Chelsea are interested in signing Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka.

>There has been no club-to-club contact and Sunderland would not welcome any offers, with the midfielder not for sale.

>Xhaka is one of the midfield options Chelsea are looking at as they want to buy experienced players with proven Premier League experience.

>Xhaka turns 34 in September so Chelsea would not pay over the odds.

>Sunderland signed him for £13m from Bayer Leverkusen last summer and he played a key part in not only keeping the club in the Premier League, but qualifying for the Europa League.

>Xhaka made 34 appearances in the league last season, scoring once and providing six assists. He left Leverkusen after playing 99 times and winning the Bundesliga under new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso.

>Xhaka was also keen for a move back to London at that time, with West Ham an option, but decided against pursuing a move.

>Before his move to Germany, he spent seven seasons at Arsenal, making 297 appearances and scoring 23 goals.

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>Marco Palestra underwent his Chelsea medical on Friday.

>The right-sided defender is set to join from Atalanta in a deal worth £43m.

>Palestra, 21, arrived in London from Rome on Thursday night to finalise the move.

>The Italian will become Alonso's first signing as Chelsea manager.

>Chelsea have enquired about signing Crystal Palace centre-back Maxence Lacroix.

>Alonso wants to sign a new centre-back this summer and Lacroix is one of several targets.

>Meanwhile, Italian side Como are very interested in signing Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah.

>However, a deal looks difficult for Como to achieve and there are other interested clubs.

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