Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka's move to Roma collapsed even though he had agreed personal terms with the Serie A side, Fabrizio Romano reports.
What's the latest transfer news involving Granit Xhaka?
As covered by GIVEMESPORT, Romano disclosed earlier this week that Xhaka has been offered a new contract by Arsenal which will last until 2025, and includes a pay rise.
What has Fabrizio Romano said about the Roma deal collapsing?
Romano stated on The Here We Go podcast that the 98-cap Swiss international is close to reaching an agreement with the North London club.
Romano also revealed that Xhaka had agreed personal terms with the Serie A side, and that manager Jose Mourinho was keen to get the deal done.
"It’s really close. It’s not signed yet. For Granit Xhaka, the deal is really set to be completed. It will be a four-years deal, so until 2025, with an increase in salary. He had an agreement on personal terms with Roma, with Mourinho pushing to have him," he said.
Romano went to to state that the deal fell through because Roma had to spend the money earmarked for the Xhaka deal on a new left-back to replace the injured Leonardo Spinazzola.
"Why did Xhaka’s deal collapse with Roma? Because Roma had the emergency deal with Spinazzola’s injury, so they were needing a left-back.
"They spent money they had in place for Xhaka on Matias Vina from Palmeiras, and so their €12m (£10.2m) + €3m (£2.5m) add-ons bid for Xhaka was rejected. Now Xhaka is really close to signing a contract with Arsenal," he said.
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How close were Roma to signing Xhaka?
Roma were quite close to signing the Arsenal midfielder. As covered by GIVEMESPORT, Romano recently revealed in his Sportskeeda transfer column that the Italian side were confident of getting the transfer completed, and they had agreed personal terms with Xhaka months ago.
Are Arsenal better off keeping Xhaka?
Arsenal boss Mikel Artera and the club's technical director Edu must feel that Xhaka is worth keeping hold of if they are sanctioning a new contract and a pay rise for the 28-year-old.
Xhaka was a mainstay in the Gunners' midfield last season, making 45 appearances in all competitions, and with Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard both returning to Real Madrid this summer, Arsenal may have been at risk of suffering from a lack of continuity in midfield.
Likewise, perhaps Edu and Arteta hope that Xhaka can act as a mentor to recent arrival Albert Sambi Lokonga. The 21-year-old joined the Gunners earlier this summer from Anderlecht in a deal that will initially cost £15m.
As Lokonga plays in a similar midfield role to Xhaka but is seven years younger, maybe the Arsenal hierarchy hope that Lokonga can learn from his more experienced team-mate.