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RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Xavi Simons reportedly wants to move to England this summer, with Arsenal and Chelsea interested in the Dutchman. Though he is eager to leave Bundesliga, there have been no official bids or talks held yet.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Simons has been looking to leave the German club since May, and is waiting for offers. Barcelona, along with Chelsea and Arsenal, remain interested in the 22-year-old, but have not made an approach.
The Dutchman spoke about his future earlier this year, hinting that the club was aware of his plan. His focus at that time was on the upcoming games as he said (via football.london):
"I'm still a young player, I have many dreams and the club knows that. But right now, the most important thing for me is to play well in the upcoming games."
Chelsea and Arsenal are looking to bring in an attacking midfielder this summer and see Simons as a viable option. BILD have reported that RB Leipzig are open to selling their star player for €70 million.
Arsenal slammed for signing Chelsea star over Eberechi Eze by Paul Merson
Football pundit Paul Merson said Arsenal's reported decision to sign Noni Madueke was a mistake. He believes that the Gunners need Eberechi Eze more than the Chelsea winger. He wrote in his Sky Sports column:
"If you asked me whether Arsenal should sign Eberechi Eze or Madueke, I'd have said Eze all day long. Now that's a deal I can see happening and it would be a brilliant signing for Arsenal. He's perfect.
"Arsenal struggle when teams come to the Emirates and put everyone behind the ball. Teams want to limit the space Arsenal have to play in and they have struggled to break teams down with those tactics. For me, that's where Eze comes in. He's got the X-factor and the ability to break a low block down.
"Away from home, maybe he's not the answer. Against the likes of Liverpool and Man City, they may come under the cosh for a bit, and they may have to play slightly differently. But that's why you have a big squad. At home, against the lesser teams, where they have 70 to 80 per cent of the ball, let Eze go and do what he wants because he will make something happen. It would be a fantastic signing for Arsenal."
Arsenal have reportedly agreed on a £52 million (€60m) fee for Madueke with Chelsea, and the winger is set to be officially announced this week. The Blues allowed him to leave before the FIFA Club World Cup final, reportedly for his medical.
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Sripad is a veteran Sportskeeda football journalist who has been with the company for around 10 years. His tryst with writing happened in class XI when he started penning blogs, and his foray into football was during the early 2000s, watching matches with his cousins.
Sripad has been a Chelsea fan through and through since the age of 9 and can watch their 2012 Champions League triumph on repeat. The undisputed ‘GOAT’ according to him is Lionel Messi and his favorite managers are Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. Apart from popular European leagues, he also likes to follow other leagues like the MLS, Saudi Pro League, Eredivisie, and Liga MX.
Sripad believes in only using the right sources for his articles, and is an expert in understanding how to get the right quotes for each news to provide proper background information. His exploits have led him to become a popular figure in European Football and interviewing Premier League legends such as Alan Shearer, Shay Given, Paul Dickov, and John Barnes. His articles have been much revered amongst the football fraternity and have been shared by the likes of John Terry, Gary Lineker, and Declan Rice.
If given a chance to change a football rule, Sripad wants VAR to be fully automated and offside rules to be less stringent. When not working, he likes to watch past Formula 1 races and play FIFA.
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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava