Granit Xhaka’s agent has confirmed that the midfielder is closing in on a move to Sunderland after reaching an agreement in principle.

Xhaka still has three years left on his contract at Bayer Leverkusen but has been linked with a return to the Premier League this transfer window.

The Swiss midfielder previously played for Arsenal, spending seven years at the Emirates after joining from Borussia Monchengladbach.

Xhaka made 225 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, netting 17 goals and registering 24 assists in that time before returning to the Bundesliga in 2023.

At Leverkusen, he was part of the team that celebrated a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double after an undefeated domestic campaign in 2023-24.

Sunderland have already made moves in the transfer market, with the aim of avoiding an immediate drop back to the Championship, and will gain Premier League experience if they do sign Xhaka.

“We’ve reached an agreement in principle with Sunderland,” Xhaka’s agent, Jose Noguera, told Sky in Germany.

“Granit wants to return to the Premier League. Sunderland excites him – he wants to take on this challenge.

“We hope Leverkusen will respect his wish to leave and that the clubs will find an agreement soon.”

In the Bundesliga last year, no Leverkusen player made more (2,753) or completed more passes (2,500) than Xhaka, while only two players bettered his 90.8% passing accuracy.

He also had the most touches (3,117), 463 more than Jonathan Tah (2,654) in second.