The Black Cats hierarchy have agreed to a total package worth €20m for Xhaka, who has already verbally agreed to move to the Stadium of Light.
It is understood Sunderland have agreed to pay around €15m (£13m) in an initial up-front payment, with a further €5m (£4.3m) of ‘achievable’ add-ons that will take the final figure to Leverkusen’s asking price.
Xhaka is now set to travel to Wearside later today ahead of completing a medical and tying up the final details of his return to the Premier League.
Provided there are no unforeseen issues, his move should be completed within the next couple of days, enabling him to join in with first-team training at the Academy of Light later this week. Given he has been training and playing with Bayer Leverkusen for most of this month, he could even be involved in Saturday’s pre-season friendly with Real Betis at the Stadium of Light.
The transfer breakthrough came after Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes had effectively given the Black Cats an ultimatum, warning them that talks would be called off for the rest of the summer if an agreement was not reached by the end of this week.
Leverkusen have already experienced significant transfer upheaval this summer, with Florian Writz, Jeremie Frimpong and Jonathan Tah all leaving, and with Erik ten Hag having publicly called for Xhaka to remain as part of his squad, Rolfes wants to ensure he has sufficient time to sign players ahead of the start of the new Bundesliga season.
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Xhaka spelled out his desire for a move to Wearside last week, with Sunderland officials having first made contact with their counterparts at Leverkusen at the start of this month.
Sunderland are understood to have offered Xhaka a three-year deal on Wearside, with Regis Le Bris and Kristjaan Speakman regarding the former Arsenal skipper as a hugely-attractive midfield option.
While Sunderland have already made six summer signings following last season’s success in the Championship play-offs, recruiting Xhaka has always been regarded as a potential ‘game-changer’.
Whereas the general thrust of Sunderland’s recruitment policy has largely remained unchanged following promotion, Speakman spoke of being willing to “tweak” it earlier this summer, and a deal for Xhaka would fit that bill. While the 32-year-old midfielder would almost certainly have no additional resale value given his age, his influence and leadership, both on and off the pitch, could be crucial as the Black Cats look to reestablish themselves in the Premier League next season.
Le Bris was asked directly about Xhaka in the aftermath of Saturday’s friendly defeat to Hearts, but did not want to give anything away.
“It’s rumours, and I can’t comment on rumours,” said Le Bris. “All I can say right now is that we are trying our best to improve the team. We will have to see what happens.”
Sunderland are also involved in talks with Bologna over centre-half Jhon Lucumi, although Italian media reports suggest the Serie A club remain reluctant to sell the Colombia international.
Bologna have already sold one centre-half, Sam Beukema, to Napoli this summer, and are reportedly reluctant to sanction the sale of another central defender.
Lucumi had a €28m release clause in his contract which expired earlier this summer, and Bologna are understood to be adamant that they will not allow the South American to leave for less than that figure.