Manchester United are reportedly attempting to disrupt Bayern Munich’s pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain star Xavi Simons.
Simons impressed at Euro 2024 with the Netherlands following an outstanding season on loan at RB Leipzig, where he scored ten goals and provided 15 assists in 43 matches.
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Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenburg reports that Simons is Bayern’s primary transfer target for the rest of the transfer window, with Rennes star Desire Doue being considered as an alternative.
However, L’Equipe states that United are also interested in the 21-year-old, having allegedly made a €50m bid for him last summer.
PSG and the Red Devils are currently negotiating a move for Manuel Ugarte, and Simons has also been a topic in those discussions.
PSV Eindhoven is set to receive a significant portion of any sale this summer, but if Simons departs PSG in 2025, the Dutch side would not be involved, making a loan move this term followed by a permanent sale next summer potentially more attractive to the Ligue 1 champions.
It is believed that United would consider such a deal, but Leipzig is also interested according to manager Marco Rose, who remains “optimistic” about convincing Simons to return to the club after his summer break.
“I am still optimistic that we can definitely keep our top players here because they want to stay here too, as they know what they have in Leipzig and have made good progress here,” he said.
“Xavi told me during our last phone call, ‘Coach, I’m fine, I’m going on holiday now and I’m turning off my mobile phone’. I haven’t heard anything since then.
“It’s the transfer period. We observe that some clubs are still signing players, but they also have to let go.
“We have an absolutely top core, a good foundation. And of course, we try to retain our top players.
“We hope that the boy [Simons] comes back,” Rose added. “I said, ‘We are still working on it, we are optimistic’.
“And somehow he [Simons] is still one of our players, even though we have no control over him. For me, Xavi is an RB [Leipzig] player, whatever the outcome.”
