Roma Drawing Closer to Granit Xhaka Transfer

After all the talk about Andrea Belotti and Rui Patricio over the past few weeks, it seems like Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka may be the first purchase of the José Mourinho era. As we discussed a couple of weeks ago, The Special One is a long-time admirer of Xhaka, having faced him over the past several years while managing Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Despite Mourinho's admiration for Xhaka, this story remained a rumor—one of many that seem to have trouble getting off the ground this summer.

But that wait may soon be over according to sources out of London:

According to Chris Wheatley, an Arsenal correspondent for Football London, the Giallorossi and the Gunners are close to wrapping up a deal for the 28-year-old midfielder and could formalize the proceedings later this week. While Wheatley didn't speculate on the transfer fee, the genuine consensus holds that Arsenal wants at least €20 to €25 million for Xhaka, who is rumored to already have a four-year deal with Roma in place.

There have been intermittent rumors that Roma would try to knock down Xhaka's price by including either Amadou Diawara or Cengiz Ünder into the deal, but that remains to be seen.

With Euro 2020 slated to begin on Friday, Roma and Arsenal will have to move quickly if they want to close this deal before Xhaka's focus shifts complete to his Swiss duties.

This transfer would have implications for a host of Roma players, so this could be the first step in Roma’s total Mourinho Makeover.

Say it with me now...stay tuned.