In a 2016 interview, Granit Xhaka infamously revealed that while growing up in Switzerland, he was once given a probably premature gift for a boy in kindergarten by parents Eli and Ragip — his own set of keys for the Xhaka family home. Granit does, in fact, have an older brother by one year named Taulant, but Taulant wasn’t handed such a privilege.
To Xhaka’s parents, Granit was the older and wiser of the two brothers, ready for the responsibility.
And that word, ‘responsibility’, has come to define 33 year old Granit Xhaka’s illustrious career.
Monchengladbach captain at just 22, Arsenal captain, Switzerland captain, even made Sunderland captain just two weeks after his arrival, Granit is now bringing his famous ‘fine, I’ll do it myself’ mindset back to the Premier League in style; so far assisting the winner against Brentford, the equaliser against Villa and the winner against Forest to win 7 points for a Sunderland side sitting 5th in red hot form.
Manchester United will be hoping Xhaka’s proverbial keys go missing as they face Sunderland this weekend. Not only for the football problems, as rumours swirl it represents D-Day for Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United career, but also because Granit in particular presses on a few of their bruises.
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It’s maybe too simplistic to ask why United didn’t sign Xhaka themselves, but we should ask. United were clearly pursuing a midfielder, and as well as being a steal at £13m + £4m in add-ons, Xhaka comes in as a Premier League proven Bundesliga trophy winner, well-versed in a (successful) 3-4-3 system.
If he’s making a Premier League return it would have made sense, and although transfers are never that simple, after a start where WhoScored have rated Xhaka as the best performing midfielder in the Premier League so far, United may rue a missed opportunity.
Because the fact is, Xhaka’s on-ball qualities would suit them.
Manchester United have a problem getting the ball into dangerous positions with regularity. In terms of the volume of progressive passes they play, they are third overall in the Premier League, with Bruno Fernandes nearly league-leading as an individual. This is potentially encouraging — but when we look at where the majority of United’s touches actually come, we see the problem.
United’s opponents dominate the most vulnerable areas all too often, with United getting an average of only 34% of the total match touches outside their opponent’s D each match (Zone 14). This is far behind other European hopefuls including Chelsea (40%), Tottenham (44%), and Aston Villa (47%). United’s preference is, of course, to use their wide rotations and their wing backs while underloading the centre of the pitch, but with a group of midfielders who are neither the most athletic nor technically gifted, they’re often stuck without access to the best areas of the pitch.
You could point to somewhat impressive xG numbers, also third in the league at this early stage, but as any fan will tell you, United struggle to create consistent momentum and “waves” of attacks, with a real lack of on-ball quality from central areas from the likes of Ugarte and Casemiro, then only compounded further by Amorim’s reluctance to use Kobbie Mainoo. United need someone willing to take charge.
Xhaka may not be the most athletic, but he is the antithesis of United’s predictable wide-play — his brand of passing both incisive and inventive. Many of the 204 progressive passes he played for Bayer Leverkusen in the 24/25 season ended centrally — something United could learn from.
Having someone willing and able to access those dangerous areas on the ball, while still usually underloaded as one of the midfield 2 in a 3-4-3 as Xhaka showed under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, is crucial.
But there’s an emotional aspect to football decision-making, as well as a technical and athletic one. Xhaka may be an inspiration to solve United’s on-field issues, but he can also inspire them off it.
Xhaka has had his critics over the years, and at times rightly so. He has been where United are, so to speak. But fans of Leverkusen, Arsenal and Mönchengladbach would probably say the same thing about him — he never hides.
You know Xhaka is playing. Black Cats legend Kevin Phillips spoke on talkSPORT this week about Xhaka, saying: “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.”
And the same can’t be said of his opponents on Saturday. People speak about a leadership gap at United, players looking lethargic and lost… but one of the biggest aspects of leadership is an example. A standard for others players to follow.
At the moment, to me, this is a Man United team without a coach on the pitch. Conte, Glasner & Alonso have proved a 3-4-3 can work at the top level; it’s not about the system, it’s about behaviours. Staying compact, getting in shape, getting to your marker, tracking the runner. That’s what defines a system.
Perhaps Xhaka himself wasn’t the right move for United. His age profile alone would cause some concern, and athletically there would be some question marks for a team looking to play more expansive football and challenge for Europe. But it’s the behaviours, doing the right things every day, leading by example, demanding more of his teammates, taking responsibility on the pitch and off it… that are worth their weight in gold.
Never hiding is what has, ultimately, turned Xhaka’s career around.
A man who is handed house keys at five years old is a man worth following, and if United are to come back from this eternal, increasingly unsalvageable plughole swirling, on Saturday, they need only look to the side in the tunnel and ask what they can learn from him. United are in a tough spot — but this is a man who has been there, done that, got the armband and thrown it on the floor… then turned it around.
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