Newcastle United seem set to miss out on the January transfer of Granit Xhaka after his agent confirmed he has agreed to join Hertha Berlin.
Xhaka had been linked with a winter move to Newcastle after he was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy for his reaction to being booed off by the Gunners supporters when substituted during their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
That led Steve Bruce to believe there was a chance to sign him on loan until the end of the season after made a new central midfielder one of his top priorities in the January transfer window.
AC Milan were believed to be favourites to sign Xhaka, and Newcastle were looking at other midfield options. However, Newcastle were confident Xhaka's relationship with his Swiss international team-mate Fabian Schar could have persuaded him to make the move to the North East.
Schar told Xhaka 'good things about the club and the city', as he looked to convince him to join him on Tyneside but it now seems as if the former Borussia Monchengladbach star is set to return to the Bundesliga.
His agent Jose Noguera told Blick: “I will say it frankly and honestly, we are in agreement with Hertha BSC and would like to go to Berlin.”
