Man City in pole position to sign star Arsenal, Man Utd love as major swap deal talked up

Xavi Simons, Man City ace Bernardo Silva

Xavi Simons is being lined up to swap clubs with Bernardo Silva

Arsenal and Manchester United might be big fans of Xavi Simons, but Manchester City reportedly have the best chance of signing him amid talk of a player-plus-cash deal.

Following a brilliant spell at PSV last season, Simons has continued his development by joining RB Leipzig on loan this term. The winger has not quite been as prolific, though he has still managed eight goals and 12 assists from 35 games while in Germany.

During his spell in the Bundesliga, Simons has caught the attention of both Man Utd and Arsenal.

Indeed, Erik ten Hag is a huge admirer of his Dutch compatriot, while Arsenal set their sights on him in January after several successful scouting missions.

However, Arsenal and Man Utd could miss out on Simons’ signing to Man City.

According to CaughtOffside, Simons’ parent club, Paris Saint-Germain, will once again try to snare long-term target Bernardo Silva this summer.

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In order to ‘sweeten the deal’ for City, PSG are happy to include Simons in negotiations. This could see PSG pay a significant fee and send Simons to the Etihad in order to make Silva their marquee signing.

While Arsenal and Man Utd were the first Premier League sides to be linked with Simons, City are well aware of the 20-year-old’s ability too.

Man City get opportunity to land Xavi Simons

The report adds that Pep Guardiola acknowledges Simons is among an elite crop of U21 stars who has the potential to reach world-class level. Guardiola feels Simons could help Phil Foden in replacing Kevin de Bruyne, should the Belgian leave for Saudi Arabia this summer.

Moving to City would give Simons the chance to play under one of the best coaches of all time, in Guardiola, while also competing for regular trophies.

Despite this, he would still be angry with PSG if they included him in a swap deal for Silva.

The Ligue 1 giants allowed Simons to join PSV on a free transfer in summer 2022 after the player find out he would be getting few first-team opportunities.

Although, PSG still had control of his future as they included a buy-back clause in the deal, which was activated just over a year later.

PSG convinced Simons to re-join the club by stating that he could play regularly in the 2024-25 season after he returns from his Leipzig spell.

However, it seems the Netherlands international will never be offered the chance to play for PSG regularly, as they are already planning to offload him as part of their hunt to sign Silva.

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