Kevin Phillips shares what he has heard about Granit Xhaka behind the scenes at Sunderland

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Granit Xhaka has taken to life at Sunderland like a duck to water.

The £13m signing from Bayer Leverkusen has captained the Black Cats to fifth in the Premier League after six games so far – impressively providing three assists in his six appearances too.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	6	5	0	1	12	7	5	15
2	ArsenalArsenal	6	4	1	1	12	3	9	13
3	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	6	3	3	0	8	3	5	12
4	TottenhamTottenham	6	3	2	1	11	4	7	11
5	SunderlandSunderland	6	3	2	1	7	4	3	11

Kevin Phillips has now shared his thoughts on the influential Granit Xhaka – including what those inside Sunderland have said about him.

Kevin Phillips claims Granit Xhaka sets the “standards” at Sunderland

Speaking on talkSPORT, the man who scored 118 goals in 223 appearances for Sunderland said he has heard the Switzerland international is a real leader on Wearside.

Phillips – who almost signed for Arsenal – said: “I think Granit Xhaka has been an inspirational signing on and off the pitch as well from what I’m hearing – what he’s like in and around the training ground, setting standards.

“I can imagine he’s gone in there, he’s played at the very top with some of the best teams in the world, and set standards in the changing room – you know the players look up to him and he’s a leader.”

Xhaka amassed 225 Premier League appearances at Arsenal and has also played 32 games in the UEFA Champions League – along with an astonishing 139 caps for Switzerland.

Therefore, it would have been easy for the 33-year-old to walk into Sunderland, who had only just earned promotion, with a touch of snobbiness, but it is testament to his professionalism that Xhaka has helped transform the Black Cats so quickly in his role as captain.

Stunning Sunderland form shows why Micah Richards was “devastated” to see Granit Xhaka leave Arsenal

Micah Richards – who supports Arsenal – was gutted to see his side offload the man born in Basel when selling him to Bayer Leverkusen in July 2023 for a sum of just £21m.

The 37-year-old said: “Xhaka, when he left Arsenal, I was absolutely devastated because I knew how important he could be to a team… he was so good.”

The Sunderland No.34 is now proving Richards right with his efforts on Wearside, where he has rapidly become a pivotal figure under Regis Le Bris.

Crucially, Sunderland also tied the Swiss maestro down until June 2028, so he could quite feasibly become a figurehead of a hugely successful period at the Stadium of Light.

If the Black Cats manage to survive this season in the Premier League, a lot of it will come down to the inspired £13m signing of Xhaka.