Manchester United were reportedly the favourites to sign wonderkid Xavi Simons in the summer transfer window before Paris Saint-Germain triggered their buy-back clause.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano (via his YouTube Channel), Manchester United were in pole position to land attacking midfielder Xavi Simons from PSV Eindhoven this past summer. But the Dutchman said “yes” to a Paris return, and the French giants activated the incredibly low buy-back clause.
The 20-year-old attacker, who scored 19 goals and registered eight assists in the Eredivisie last season, left PSG in 2022 to join PSV. But his spell in Holland was cut short after just one year at the Philips Stadion. The young Dutchman was initially gearing up to stay with PSV following a barnstorming campaign last season. But he unexpectedly handed the Parisians the green light to trigger their cut-price buy-back clause.
Simons was the only party that could decide whether the €6 million clause was triggered and communicated to PSG that he would be willing to return to his former club despite extensive interest in his services from some of Europe’s top clubs, convinced of their project.
The decision to re-sign the midfielder is proving to be a genius move by PSG since he is off to a red-hot start with RB Leipzig after the French side opted to loan him out so he could continue his development. The five-time Netherlands international has been directly involved in seven goals in his first four Bundesliga games.
The youngster will return next summer, and the hope is that by then, he will have bagged enough first-team experience to make a good impression in Luis Enrique’s side. That said, the story could have taken an alternate path, and the Dutch maestro could now be turning out at Old Trafford had things gone differently, with Fabrizio Romano revealing Manchester United missed out on the opportunity to sign Xavi Simons.
The Red Devils’ interest in Simons does not come as a surprise. Erik ten Hag keeps a close eye on football in his homeland, having previously managed Ajax. And Simons’s outstanding season is understood to have impressed the Dutchman. But given that United were working with a limited budget, a move for another attacking midfielder following the signing of Mason Mount from Chelsea did not seem to be a priority at the time.
In hindsight, they could have benefitted from more invention in the final third after the poor start to the season ten Hag’s side are enduring as they are struggling to even show signs of picking up all three points, losing three of their first five Premier League games this season. Their latest defeat, a demolition job at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion, proved once again just how far away the Red Devils are from returning to their best.
