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Granit Xhaka open to elite club amid Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern links

Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka has suggested he is open to joining an elite club amid speculation Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are interested.

Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl told WDR2 radio at the weekend that Xhaka, 23, would not be sold in January but he could not rule out an exit at the end of the season if a sufficient offer is made.

Bild reported that Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern are interested and that the Switzerland international has a €30 million release clause that is due to become active in the summer of 2017.

As such, the German tabloid suggests an offer of €40m would be sufficient to persuade Gladbach to cash in, and Xhaka has indicated that he would be open to a transfer if he is given reassurances over first-team football.

"Gladbach's a top club, but if I were to join a top, top, top club one day, I would want to play there," he told Bild. "I am not a guy for the bench."

Xhaka, who joined Gladbach from Basel in 2012, has been central to the club's revival under Andre Schubert in recent months but there are questions over his temperament, with the player having been sent off three times in the 2015-16 season so far.