According to Calciomercato, as cited by Express, AS Roma have stepped up their pursuit of Granit Xhaka. The Serie A giants had their €15 million offer recently rebuffed by Arsenal, but are now ready to offer one of their stars in a direct exchange deal. Cengiz Under is among the two players who have emerged as candidates for a swap deal, as new coach Jose Mourinho looks to secure the services of Xhaka this summer.
Cengiz Under’s Struggles At Leicester City
Cengiz Under moved to Premier League last summer, joining Leicester City on a season-long loan deal. He was brought in to add more depth in Brendan Rodgers’ attacking unit that had disputed options like Ayoze Perez, Demarai Gray and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Under, however, has endured a dreadful campaign at the King Power Stadium. He has mostly played as a second fiddle to the likes of Marc Albrighton and Perez, struggling to establish himself as a first-team regular.
In fact, the Turk has mustered only one Premier League start and a total of just nine league appearances, failing to score a single goal. He was far more involved in Leicester’s Europa League campaign, but the Foxes disappointingly were knocked out by Slavia Prague.
Is Under A Risky Option For Arsenal?
Arsenal are in need of attacking reinforcements in the upcoming summer transfer window. The majority of their experienced players including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian have failed to live up to the expectations while Mesut Ozil was offloaded in January.
Under, though, could be a risky option given his struggles at Leicester City. Although the Turkish international was unlucky with the lack of game-time offered by Rodgers, he certainly didn’t do enough to convince the former Liverpool boss. It was particularly evident in his performance against Slavia Prague in the 2nd leg of the Europa League knockout round.
There are definite question marks over whether the 23-year-old is at all capable to penetrate defences on a consistent basis. It doesn’t bode well for Mikel Arteta, whose team was already criticised for lack of creativity.
On top of that, losing a midfielder like Granit Xhaka could too much of an expense, as far as signing Under is concerned. The Gunners, therefore, should stick to demanding a higher fee for their Swiss international rather than welcoming any of Roma’s fringe players.
