{"id":285786,"date":"2025-07-23T17:48:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/285786\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T17:48:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:48:14","slug":"chelsea-prepare-xavi-simons-bid-but-face-major-hijack-risk-from-premier-league-and-european-rivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/285786\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea prepare Xavi Simons bid – but face major hijack risk from Premier League and European rivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chelsea are set to make an opening bid to sign RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons, talkSPORT understands.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Simons is close to agreeing personal terms, but is also talking to other clubs with Bayern Munich and Arsenal keen as well.<\/p>\n

\"Chelsea<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Chelsea have opened talks with RB Leipzig over the signing of SimonsCredit: Getty\"Enzo<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Enzo Maresca is looking to complete his eighth signing of the summerCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old is prioritising a move to the Premier League<\/a> as it stands and could be available for under \u00a360million.<\/p>\n

That’s despite Leipzig agreeing an \u00a370million fee with PSG in January.<\/p>\n

The breakdown of that package was \u00a344million guaranteed with a further \u00a326million in add-ons.<\/p>\n

A large proportion of the bonuses haven’t been paid yet, which is why Leipzig are prepared to sanction a sale closer to Simons’ current market value.<\/p>\n

Who else is on Chelsea transfer list?<\/p>\n

Chelsea<\/a> want to add another attacker with the expectation Christopher Nkunku departs.<\/p>\n

Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho also remains a name of interest.<\/p>\n

Should Nicolas Jackson also depart, which is by no means a given, Joao Pedro would likely be used more in his favoured role as a number nine, and there could even be a scenario where Chelsea proceed with both Simons and Garnacho.<\/p>\n

Arsenal also appreciate Simons, but are yet to advance on a deal. Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze remains a name of interest and talks have already taken place on the player side.<\/p>\n

Palace’s position is they want Eze\u2019s \u00a368million release clause paid and it remains to seen whether this stance softens as the window progresses.<\/p>\n

Bayern have also held talks with Simons, even though their first priority is to sign Liverpool’s Luiz Diaz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Bayern<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Bayern and Arsenal could rival Chelsea for the Netherlands midfielderCredit: Getty\"Simons<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Simons could be available for less than \u00a360million during the current windowCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

An improved offer, potentially close to \u00a370million, is expected soon.<\/p>\n

The German champions are not also ruling out a bid for Simons despite knowing he is keen on a Premier League switch.<\/p>\n

Simons has made 76 appearances for Leipzig, scoring 21 times and can be used as an attacking midfielder or on either flank, which is viewed as appealing by Chelsea.<\/p>\n

Chelsea are also busy advancing on a new defender having started club-to-club talks with Ajax<\/a> for Jorrel Hato.<\/p>\n

Fresh talks also took place on the player side last week, as talkSPORT revealed, and personal terms are not thought to be a problem.<\/p>\n

Liverpool also have an interest in the defender, who clubs hope will be available in the \u00a335-45million bracket, despite Ajax holding out for a fee closer to \u00a360million in January when suitors enquired.<\/p>\n

Alex Crook reveals Chelsea are keen to sign Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers <\/p>\n

Chelsea see Hato as a strong fit because he can play centre-back or left-back and there is need for a versatile profile given Renato Veiga is in talks to join Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n

Cover for Marc Cucurella currently comes in the form of right-sided defenders Reece James and Malo Gusto or moving Levi Colwill to left-back.<\/p>\n

Visit talkSPORT BET for all the latest summer transfer betting odds<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

18+ gambleaware.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chelsea are set to make an opening bid to sign RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons, talkSPORT understands. Simons…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[161,1062,885,94,101,10382,79,16,15,12813],"class_list":{"0":"post-285786","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-arsenal","9":"tag-bayern-munich","10":"tag-chelsea","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-premier-league","13":"tag-rb-leipzig","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-xavi-simons"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114903810333237666","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}