Arsenal to rival Barcelona in race to sign PSG loan star as price tag is set

05/14/2024 07:17 AM

Paris Saint-Germain will consider cashing in on Xavi Simons this summer and both Arsenal and Barcelona are ready to battle it out to sign him, according to reports.

The 21-year-old, who came through the academy at Barca before moving to PSG in 2019, was actually sold by the French giants to PSV in the summer of 2022.

That deal included a buy-back clause and after a stellar campaign in the Eredivisie he was bought back by PSG last summer, only to be immediately loaned out to RB Leipzig.

Simons has again enjoyed another strong campaign, scoring seven times and laying on 11 assists in 31 Bundesliga appearances – a goal contribution every 136 minutes.

He also played eight times in the Champions League, scoring twice and assisting twice, and is likely to play a big role for the Netherlands at this summer's Euros.

With Kylian Mbappe departing PSG on a free transfer, Simons had been expected to return to the Parc des Princes to help fill the void – but that might not necessarily be the case.

According to Spanish newspaper Sport, the French champions are willing to consider offers for Simons and are aware of interest from Barcelona, Arsenal and Bayern Munich.

Barca have discussed a deal and feel their former academy player would be an ideal fit, though they are hamstrung by La Liga's strict financial fair play rules.

Any move for the youngster is dependent on selling another player first, and that hands the advantage to long-time suitors Arsenal and Bayern – who are both able to pay PSG's asking price.

Although Luis Enrique is happy to welcome Simons back into the first-team fold, PSG's hierarchy will cash in if they receive an offer around the €60million (£51.6m) mark.

That is likely to be too steep for Barca, though they do have one advantage which is that Simons' preference would be to return to Camp Nou.

The Dutchman is keen to have his future resolved before this summer's Euros and the transfer is likely to accelerate before the end of May, while Simons has also made it clear that he does not want to be loaned out again.

Simons has played predominantly as an attacking central midfielder for Leipzig though he is also capable of playing on both flanks.

He could provide Arsenal with cover and competition in multiple positions, with Mikel Arteta believed to be keen to add a new right winger to his squad to lessen the load on Bukayo Saka as well as a backup to skipper Martin Odegaard.

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