According to SportBild (via SportWitness), Arsenal are one of the clubs in the running to sign Paris Saint-Germain winger Xavi Simons next summer if RB Leipzig fail to extend his loan deal.
Simons rejoined Paris Saint-Germain from PSV Eindhoven last summer after they triggered a buy-back clause in his contract. A number of Premier League clubs were linked with him, but the French champions decided to loan him out to Leipzig for the 2023/24 campaign.
The 20-year-old has adapted to German football in no time with 6 goals and 9 assists from 26 appearances for Leipzig. As per SportBild, Leipzig are not in a position to buy Simons with their tough financial situation and they are likely to propose a loan extension.
However, Paris Saint-Germain have not made a decision yet on the same and it is mentioned that Arsenal are one of the many clubs in the picture to land the Dutchman. Aside from the Gunners, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan are among the top teams vying for his services.
Top talent
Arsenal currently have Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka as their number one choices on the left and right wing under manager Mikel Arteta, but there is need for more competition. Leandro Trossard had a good start to the campaign deputising for Martinelli when he was injured, but he has lacked consistency in recent months.
On the opposite end, Saka has been out of touch over the past few weeks but there has been no quality back-up behind him. The Gunners need to improve their attacking depth on the right wing in particular and Simons would be a top signing as he is only 20 years of age and has plenty of room to develop in the coming years.
The Dutchman is priced at £60 million by Transfermarkt and Arsenal should anticipate to pay a similar fee next summer if they want to prise him away ahead of the likes of Bayern, Barcelona and AC Milan. It could be a worthwhile investment as Simons has shown good adaptability despite switching clubs regularly in his young career.
