Erik ten Hag has identified his perfect Bruno Fernandes successor at Manchester United and has sent scouts to watch the Eredivisie ace, the agent of a Liverpool player has offered him to two major clubs, while Monday’s Euro Paper Talk claims Chelsea are ‘determined’ to complete a major attacking transfer in the summer.
MAN UTD HUNT CODY GAKPO FAVOURITE
After losing out on Cody Gakpo to Liverpool, Man Utd could bring in their own PSV star by landing his former partner in crime Xavi Simons, according to reports.
Simons and Gakpo both enjoyed a brilliant first half of the season at PSV. They terrorised opposition defences to help PSV challenge Feyenoord, Ajax and AZ Alkmaar for the league title.
Unfortunately for Simons, he lost his attacking ally as Gakpo moved to Liverpool in a £45million deal during January. But Simons could now follow Gakpo to England by signing for Liverpool’s arch-rivals Man Utd.
He has issued Man Utd scouts to watch the attacking midfielder in action on several occasions this season. And they have been left hugely impressed.
Simons, who is still only 19 years of age, has notched 15 goals and eight assists in 37 matches so far. That includes a goal and assist as PSV swept SC Cambuur aside with a 5-2 victory on Sunday.
Man Utd have kept tabs on Simons’ development and are now ready to make a move for him. And he could be the perfect successor to Fernandes in that central attacking midfield role.
Fernandes has been a brilliant performer for the Red Devils since joining the club in January 2020. But he was a very disappointing captain during the recent 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool.
Xavi Simons link comes after Bruno Fernandes criticism
Pundits called for Fernandes to never be Man Utd captain again in the aftermath of that game, while others suggested he should be dropped from the starting eleven.
The Portuguese redeemed himself somewhat by scoring in Man Utd’s next outing, which ended in a 4-1 win against Real Betis. However, Ten Hag will not have been impressed with Fernandes’ attitude during that Liverpool humiliation.
Simons would be an exceptional capture for Man Utd. He is already proving himself to be way too good for the Dutch top flight, despite his tender age. The amount of goals and assists he is putting up, as well as his huge influence on the way PSV attack, suggests he can become a world-class star in the future.
And Ten Hag can get the best out of him, too. They are compatriots, which is only going to help, while Ten Hag has proven with Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez that he can take players to the next level.
The only concern when it comes to Man Utd landing Simons is that he could go to one of two other clubs instead. Newcastle are also scouting him, which sets up the possibility of him moving to St James’ Park. And then there is PSG.
The teenager spent time in the Barcelona and PSG academies before moving to the Netherlands on a free transfer last summer.
PSG apparently have a buy-back clause worth €10million (£8.8m) which means they can sign Simons on the cheap, should he decide to go back there.
Ultimately, the decision will rest with Simons as PSV will not stand in his way. He could opt to join Man Utd over PSG after previously being left unimpressed by the French giants’ refusal to play him regularly.
Source: sg.news.yahoo.com
