There’s been a lot of vitriol directed at Granit Xhaka over the last few days on Twitter/X. As yet, there has been no official statement from the player, and I’m becoming concerned that the transfer rumours started by various accounts on the platform to unsettle things are working as intended.
I think we have to be careful about deciding at this stage that Xhaka has been duplicitous. The worse the reaction to him personally, the more likely he is to take offence if he hasn’t even done anything. That
could prove more damaging to his relationship with the club and supporters than anything else.
I would urge a little bit of caution from the fanbase. Until we hear from the man himself, I’m minded to see this as pure speculation. Xhaka may break cover and dismiss the entire thing, or he may say there’s some truth in it. Who knows? Either way, I’m not prepared to see him convicted without a trial.
Granit Xhaka has provided this club with a platform from which to lift off next season. There is surely no doubt that, without him last season, we would not be planning for the Europa League. This, in itself, gives him enough credit in the bank to deserve, at the very least, the benefit of the doubt. I could be wrong – maybe he’s engineered the whole thing himself. Time will tell.
This first brush with the way that the likes of Fabrizio Romano ply their trade is not a pleasant experience. While the idea of them bringing us the latest transfer speculation sounds great, what’s actually happening is that agents and clubs are using these accounts to unsettle situations and divide opinion.
Last summer, all the rumours were positive – incoming transfers daily, with very little of the negative. Now we are among the top clubs in the country, and our players have performed so well that other, more established clubs are bound to circle our talent.
It comes with the territory. The excitement of having 12 players at the World Cup is tempered by the fact that they are also in the shop window. This isn’t going away any time soon. More rumours will emerge and other players will be linked. Before you know it, we’ll find Ballard, Mukiele, Sadiki, Roefs, Diarra, Le Fée and Brobbey all linked with moves away that they may have no interest in and have done nothing to promote.
We live in the crocodile enclosure now. We’ll get bitten at some point, and there is nothing we can do to stop it.
