The superstar era may be a thing of the past at Paris Saint-Germain, but Xavi Simons has a burgeoning superstar who is already one of the best young players in Europe. The only problem is he doesn’t seem to want to play for Les Parisiens.
Watching Simons play football is as much fun as Spinanga. He’s led the Eredivisie in scoring at PSV Eindhoven during the 2022-23 season, and last season, on loan with RB Leipzig, he finished with the second-most assists in the Bundesliga with 13 and added 8 goals in the German top-flight as well. Before his ankle injury this season, the Netherlands international recorded two goals and one assist in seven Bundesliga matches.
Simons rejoined PSG in 2023 following a free transfer from Eindhoven thanks to a clever €4 million buy-back clause, but immediately went out on loan to Leipzig. There’s been conflicting reports regarding why Simons didn’t want to stay at PSG, but with a change at manager, the drama surrounding Kylian Mbappé, and the departure of Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr., it’s easy to see why a young player may not want to be part of a club in transition.
Now, with Simons’ loan at Leipzig set to expire in June of 2025, and a contract that runs until 2027 at PSG, the big question PSG must answer this summer is what to do with arguably their best young player.
If they want to entertain transfer offers, the significant ankle injury doesn’t help because Simons hasn’t been able to continue his development. There will still be offers, but last summer, PSG could have likely enticed a top Premier League club or Bayern Munich to pay a transfer fee upward of €100 million. That figure is likely around €80 million now, which isn’t bad considering PSG’s activated that €4 million buy-back clause when he was at Eindhoven.
Could PSG convince Simons to stay at PSG. Luis Enrique would have completed his second full season at the club, the midfield is set for the next decade with João Neves, Warren Zaïre-Emery, and Vitinha, and Achraf Hakimi just signed a contract extension until 2029. Bradley Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos are young stars in the making and would excel with Simons in the squad. Simons would help solve a lot of the issues PSG has had this season, but can they convince him to return to the club he joined from Barcelona in 2019? If so, the 2025-26 season could be one of great expectations.
