Arsenal are very well-informed on developments around £60m RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons ahead of the summer transfer window, according to a report.
Fabrizio Romano reports (via Transfer Sector) that Arsenal are very well-informed on developments with Xavi Simons of RB Leipzig, as are Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea.
Romano claims the player could be available for £60m, with sources believing the Premier League is a credible possible destination for him.
That might seems strange to anyone who followed Simons move from PSG in January. For a start, he’s only just joined Leipzig on a permanent deal. On top of that, his move to Germany was for a total of €81m (£67.6m).
Yet there are a couple of additional factors that explain why Simons might be available for less than that this summer.
For a start, though Simons’ move to Leipzig could ultimately be worth as much as €81m, a large portion of that was in add-ons. The initial fee was only €55m, which equates to £45.9m.
Assuming the 21-year-old hasn’t activated many of those add-on payments in the two months since his transfer, Leipzig would still be making a decent profit with a £60m sale.
As for why Simons would be available at all, it’s worth highlighting that the player only signed a contract with Leipzig lasting until 2027. So despite joining in January, he’ll be in the final two years of his deal this summer.
Leipzig will presumably want the player to either commit his future with an extension or earn them a profit with a sale, otherwise that fee of up to €81m could go up in smoke in a couple of years.