Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka close to Bayer Leverkusen transfer

Xhaka, who has one year remaining on his Arsenal contract, is expected to join Leverkusen for £21.5million..

Initially, the German side were only going to offer £12million but have been forced to raise their offer in accordance with the Gunners' valuation of the Swiss international.

Xhaka has already expressed his desire to go into management one day and Leverkusen are lining up him as potentially being a coach at the club following his playing career.

The 30-year-old posted a cryptic message on his Instagram account at the end of last season with pictures of him down the years with the caption: 'Thank you Gunners'. Indeed it seems he has already bid his farewell to the club.

The North Londoners are close to finding a more than adequate replacement to fill the void left by the workhorse's departure in the form of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, who is expected to move to the Emirates for over £100million.