Chelsea is aiming to buy midfielder Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig, but coach Mikel Arteta has two “secret weapons” to help Arsenal surpass the opponent in the city in this mission.
After the Championship of the 2025 Club, Chelsea is carrying out strong reforms. They brought Liam Delap and Joao Pedro, while names like Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix and Ben Chilwell may leave the team.
Xavi Simons, 22, is now the latest goal of Chelsea after the Dutch player expressed his desire to leave Leipzig because the German representative did not win tickets to the European Cup. His price may be less than £ 60 million, even though he just moved to Leipzig in the formal form from PSG last summer.
However, Arsenal is also keeping an eye on Simons, and the attention can continue despite the fact that they have just recruited Noni Madueke from Chelsea. According to the British press, coach Arteta can take advantage of two special personal relationships to convince Simons to choose Emirates instead of Stamford Bridge.
The first is friendship with Madueke. Madueke and Simons are the former teammates at PSV Eindhoven, where both of them played extremely well on the field and maintained close friendship in real life. The presence of Madueke can create peace of mind and the familiar feeling for Simons if moving to Arsenal.
The second is the relationship of Simons with Jurrien Timber. Simons is also a teammate in the Dutch national team with Timber, the defender is wearing Arsenal. Timber can play an important “guest theory”, helping Simons understand Arsenal's potential and development plans under Arteta.
Last month, Timber himself revealed: “Arsenal will have a busy transfer. I think the club will bring back many players because last season we have a lot of injuries. Sometimes there is almost no one to replace.”
Another factor can help Arsenal win like that: the new representative of Simons, Ali Barat, is the one who helped Madueke moved to Emirates. Barat also has a very good job relationship with Arsenal sports director, Andrea Berta – who is leading the transfer after Edu leaves.
Arsenal soon accelerated on Techmart with deals like Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Viktor Gyokeres (negotiating for £ 67 million). If Simons is really a goal, Arsenal has a basis for surpassing Chelsea thanks to his personal links and clear transfer strategies.