Chelsea’s bid for Granit Xhaka earlier this week caught everyone a bit by surprise, and it’s now gone a little quiet after Sunderland rejected the Blues’ opening offer.I’m reliably told, however, that this story is not over yet, as I first reported here for the Daily Briefing.“Yes, Chelsea are absolutely going to bid again for Xhaka,” one source with ties to the agents industry told me this morning. “Xabi Alonso is determined to work with him again. Sunderland have turned down £8m, but there’ll be a new offer of around £10m.”DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYPersonally, I’m not convinced that Chelsea are going to have much luck with this if they only go up to £10m, but let’s see. One important factor to remember is the player’s side, with Xhaka already informing Sunderland that he’s eager for this move to go through. He wants to live in London again, and his family are on board.Sunderland will insist on keeping Xhaka, with their message at the moment being that the Switzerland international is simply not on the market for any price. The reality in football is often quite different, though, so even if an improved £10m offer isn’t quite enough, there’s likely to be a point where the Black Cats have to consider cashing in on a player who turns 34 in September and who clearly wants out.What next in Granit Xhaka to Chelsea transfer saga?Chelsea, I suspect, will have to go higher than £10m. We’ll have to see if some kind of package can be agreed that includes more add-ons and bonuses, but it’s also very hard to see Sunderland accepting as little as £10m as a baseline fee.Sources at the Stadium of Light were not at all happy with Chelsea’s low-ball opening offer, and £10m simply isn’t enough of an improvement on that. At the same time, it’s unclear if the Blues’ ownership would really be prepared to invest much more in a player with no resale value.There is some flexibility in the approach this year, as the Xhaka pursuit shows, with Chelsea ready to add some experienced players alongside the usual investments in youngsters, but there will always be limits, and it’s hard to see where the compromise would be on Xhaka.Alonso is very keen on a reunion at Stamford Bridge as the pair worked so well together at Bayer Leverkusen, but other options are being explored as well, and the new Chelsea manager is ready to consider alternatives being put to him by the recruitment staff.Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustChelsea could turn to Alex Scott or Ayyoub BouaddiAlex Scott has been linked and I understand that could be one to watch, though I don’t have anything that concrete there yet, with the strongest interest coming from Arsenal and with Bournemouth planning contract talks rather than entering into any negotiations over a sale.Likewise, Ayyoub Bouaddi is a player Chelsea like, but there’s nothing happening there at the moment, with Manchester City understood to be more advanced on that one, and Lille pushing for a deal that allows them to keep the 18-year-old for another year.More Stories / Latest NewsSources: Xabi Alonso still pushing for top transfer target as Chelsea prepare improved bidJul 1 2026, 10:01Insider has serious doubts over Liverpool completing deal to sign 18 G/A speedsterJul 1 2026, 9:58Talks opened: Man United brush aside Fernandes setback to target Bundesliga sensationJul 1 2026, 9:41The usual names will continue to pop up from time to time, but until I have something more substantial to say then I won’t bother you with them just now, but you likely have an idea of who I’m talking about anyway.For now, renewed efforts to try and get a deal for Xhaka done is the most likely scenario, and we’ll have a clearer idea on what happens next once a new bid is made and based on Sunderland’s response.The post Sources: Xabi Alonso still pushing for top transfer target as Chelsea prepare improved bid appeared first on CaughtOffside.