According to Spanish newspaper Sport, Premier League side Arsenal have joined Barcelona in the hunt for PSG midfielder Xavi Simons.
The attacking midfielder joined PSG as a 19-year-old prodigy but he was immediately sent out on loan to RB Leipzig. He is currently in Germany on a one-year loan spell and so far, the Dutch midfielder is one of the most consistent young performers in the Bundesliga.
RB Leipzig has very openly admitted they want to hold onto Xavi Simons for one more season and a few rumours have suggested that the German side is now willing to sign him on a permanent deal. However, as per the more reliable experts, Leipzig does not have the necessary funds to carry out a permanent deal.
Will Xavi Simons prefer a move to Barcelona or Arsenal?
PSG have made it clear that they have no plans to sell the midfielder this summer but Xavi Simons is of the view that he does not have a future at the club next season. If PSG cannot convince him then they will allow him to leave on yet another loan spell.
Arsenal will be licking their lips at the prospect of signing the PSG man because, in 31 league games, Simons has scored 7 and assisted 13 goals at Leipzig. He has been a regular starter and in 2584 minutes, the attacking midfielder has created 78 chances. He has a passing accuracy of 82% and an xA of 8.88.
Even though he is primarily an attacking midfielder, he can also play out wide and this season, Simons has largely played as a winger for RB Leipzig. Out of the 42 games he’s played this season, he’s featured as a No. 10 just two times and the rest have been either as a right or a left winger.
Martin Odegaard has been shouldering all the responsibility in the No 10 role and Mikel Arteta would love to add some competition by bringing in Xavi Simons and at the same time, the youngster can play backups for Martinelli as well as Bukayo Saka.
However, it’s very unlikely that the Dutch international is going to choose a move to England because he’s already asked to join Barcelona on a loan deal.
Xavi Simons is a product of the La Masia academy and he would love to go back to his roots and play under Xavi next season which automatically pushes Arsenal on the back foot. Barcelona do not have the finances to sign an €80 million valued player so a one-year loan deal would also work wonderfully for them. If they cannot land Bernardo Silva on a permanent transfer from Manchester City, Xavi will be more than happy to bring in Xavi Simons for one season.
Are PSG unwilling to send Simons to Barcelona?
In the latest update, PSG have made it clear that they are no plans to send Xavi Simons out on loan next season, not at least to Barcelona which is a major blow for the Catalans.
