Granit Xhaka has joined Sunderland on a three-year contract, returning to the Premier League two years after he left Arsenal for Bayer Leverkusen, the English club said on Wednesday.
The 32-year old Switzerland midfielder spent seven years at Arsenal before joining Leverkusen, where he won the Bundesliga and reached the Europa League final in his debut season.
Reports in the English media say that Sunderland signed Xhaka for 17.3 million pounds ($23.14 million).
The move to the newly-promoted Premier League club comes a week after Leverkusen manager Erik ten Hag said Xhaka was too important for the club to let go.
“I’m very proud to be here. When I spoke to the Club, I was excited and I felt the energy, and the mentality that all the people and players have,” Granit Xhaka said on the Sunderland website.
“It’s exactly what I wanted, and I have a very good feeling. We are back to where this Club needs to be, and we want to stay here to write our own history.
“I feel that I’m ready to help the team with my experience but with quality as well. We need to find ourselves on the pitch, but I don’t think this will be a big problem. It’s been a long time to wait, but I’m here now and I’m looking forward to it,” Granit Xhaka added.
Xhaka, who has made 225 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, won the FA Cup twice with the North London side.
Sunderland begin their league campaign with a home game against West Ham United on August 16.
