Sunderland agreed personal terms with former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka to sign a three-year deal and join the Mackems’ midfield.
The Premier League newcomers upped their total offer by £7m to get the deal done and Xhaka has been given permission to travel to the UK to undergo a medical.
Xhaka made 33 Bundesliga appearances last season, scoring twice and setting up seven goals. Before joining Leverkusen he played 297 times for Arsenal, scoring 23 times and making 26 assists.
Speaking last week, Leverkusen boss Erik ten Hag suggested a Xhaka departure was not possible following Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong’s moves to Liverpool and Jonathan Tah’s transfer to Bayern Munich.
“This club has already sold three important players,” the former Man Utd boss said.
“We won’t let go of any more players; that’s not possible. That would neglect the structure and culture of the squad.
“Clearly, Granit is a leader. He signed for five years and has three years left on his contract. He’s too important for us to let go.”
Sunderland have already spent £107m so far this summer on six new signings.
