'Ready for Arsenal' - PSV 'modern playmaker' Xavi Simons shows shades of Christian Eriksen
Updated 02/06/2023 at 13:32 GMT
Xavi Simons has emerged at PSV Eindhoven as one of the most promising talents in Dutch football in recent years. Having arrived from Paris Saint-Germain there is a chance that the 20-year-old will be subject of a bid from the French side, but recent reports suggest that Premier League runners-up Arsenal are leading the chance for the youngster, who has lit up the Eredivisie.
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With Arsenal reportedly leading the race for Xavi Simons, Dutch Eurosport expert Kevin Van Nunen compared the youngster to some of the best talent to come via the Netherlands.
Simons started his youth footballing career with CD Thader, but switched to Barcelona before moving on again to Paris Saint-Germain.
He made a handful of appearances for PSG before being sold to PSV, and the French club have inserted a €12 million buyback clause for the 20-year-old.
Arsenal are said to be keen on the player as they look to build upon their second-place Premier League finish in the summer transfer window, and it is up to Simons, and not just his former club, whether he moves back to Paris.
That means that PSV could demand a much higher transfer fee, perhaps similar to the £50 million that Liverpool spent to bring in Cody Gakpo, and there is talk they wish to retain him for at least another season.
Van Nunen used Gakpo as one example to compare him too, but also suggested former Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen, now at Liverpool’s rivals Manchester United.
Simons is, “the typical modern playmaker, he’s very creative and able to give an assist as well as making goals,” he told Eurosport UK.
“I named Christian Eriksen as a comparison for a reason, especially as Simons is at a similar point in his career as when Eriksen had his breakthrough at Ajax. Another good comparison to make is… Cody Gakpo! That’s an obvious one in this case. Simons followed in the footsteps of Gakpo after his transfer to Liverpool and was as important as Gakpo was for the team before he left for Liverpool.”
He also suggested that Simons’ scoring record could be deceptive.
He noted: “Although Simons was top scorer of the Eredivisie (19 goals) please don’t look too much in to this… as it had more to do with strikers scoring not so much goals and not Simons scoring an exorbitant amount of goals himself, although 19 is pretty good for a non-striker of course!”
Van Nunen believes that Arsenal are the right club for him to move to, if he plumps for England, given their ability to bring through younger players under Mikel Arteta.
“If he chooses Arsenal, I think he’s ready,” he began. “If Simons opts for Man Utd, I think he’s not. Arsenal knows very much how to nurture young talents and that’s why choosing the right club will be very important for Simons if he wants to leave PSV.
“And the type of football Arsenal plays suits Simons a little better than Man Utd, I think. Simons still very much is a kid who needs time to mature further.
The situation for Simons seems to be a straight choice between PSG and Arsenal for now, and Van Nunen again backed Arsenal as the best destination.
He explained: “PSG is such a difficult club right now. The manager can be gone today or tomorrow, while Arsenal does seem to have a better plan for the immediate future.
“What the plan will bring is obviously difficult to say, but if you’re good enough for Arsenal you will play while a big talent can be a victim of all the politics going on in Paris.”
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