Xavi Simons is a 21-year-old Dutch forward who is currently contracted to PSG, though he has excelled out on loan over the past couple of years with fruitful stints at both PSV and RB Leipzig having drawn interest from Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.
After an impressive campaign last season in East Germany with RB Leipzig where he registered 10 goals and 15 assists from 43 games in all competitions, Simons further put himself in the spotlight at EURO 2024.
Simons featured in each of The Netherlands’ six games at the competition, starting in five whilst providing three assists and scoring one goal, a stunner against England in the semi-finals.
His performances have put him on the radar of numerous clubs around the world including both Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig who are said to be interested in loaning the Dutchman from PSG for the upcoming campaign.
It now seems as though Man Utd have focused their attention on Simons after the captures of Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, with a swap deal involving Simons and Manuel Ugarte from PSG and Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho from United being reported.
Sancho has recently returned to first-team training at United following a bust-up with Ten Hag last season, whilst 29-year-old captain Fernandes is coming off the back of another productive campaign for the Red Devils with 10 goals and eight assists in the league.
It remains to be seen whether or not United would entertain such an offer for PSG, though their interest in both Simons and Ugarte is said to be genuine.
What is Simons like as a player and how does he compare to Fernandes?
Fernandes has arguably been Man Utd’s best player since he joined the club back in January 2020 for €65m (£54.6m), having contributed to 79 goals and 66 assists in 233 games in all competitions for the Red Devils.
Having signed a new deal at Old Trafford in April 2022 until the summer of 2026 with an option to extend for a further year, United will not be desperate to move on the Portuguese international anytime soon.
However, Simons, who is eight years Fernandes’ junior, is reportedly highly thought of by United boss and compatriot Ten Hag and any move for the young Dutchman may see Fernandes head the other way.
Since his breakout season with PSV in the 2022-2023 campaign where he notched 22 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, Simons has gone on to establish himself as one of the brightest young prospects in world football following an excellent spell on loan at RB Leipzig last campaign.
Though they both play in similar positions, they are quite different from each other in how they play.
What is Simons like as a player?
Standing at 179cm (5ft 10) tall, Simons is adept at playing as either a number 10 or out on the left wing where he can cut in on his favoured right foot, as when he has the ball at his feet and can run at the opposition he really thrives.
Last season for RB Leipzig, Simons played a lot of his football out on the left wing or as the left attacking midfielder in a 4-2-2-2 under manager Marco Rose.
Unlike Fernandes, Simons is incredibly direct in his play, making 151 progressive carries for Leipzig and averaging 4.27 carries into the final third p/90in 32 appearances in the league last season, putting him in the 99th percentile among attacking midfielders across the last year.
In comparison, Fernandes only made 86 progressive carries and averaged 1.65 carries into the final third p/90 for Man Utd in 35 games in the league last season.
For an attacking player, Simons was very rarely ever caught offside for Leipzig last season, averaging 0.03 offsides p/90 whereas Fernandes was averaging 0.32 offsides p/90.
Though this may be partially down to the different systems and roles that both played last campaign, it bodes well that Simons is very rarely caught offside as it means he remains focused and can control his runs.
Simons also prefers to pick up the ball from deep and drive with the ball as opposed to running in behind and getting on the end of a through ball, meaning the chances of him being caught offside are naturally slimmer.
An area where both players shine is their shot-creating actions, with Simons averaging 6.07 p/90 and Fernandes averaging 5.83 p/90 across the last year, putting them both firmly among the best creators this past year.
Where Simons really stands out though is his proficiency to take on an opposition player and win the battle, getting tackled just 31.4% of the time, putting him firmly in the 99th percentile among attacking midfielders and wingers in this metric across the last year.
The 21-year-old is also not afraid to have an effort on goal if the opportunity to pass doesn’t arrive, averaging 2.68 shots p/90 last season, with Fernandes similarly on 2.60 p/90 for Man Utd.
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What is Fernandes like as a player?
At the same height of 179cm (5ft 10), Fernandes primarily plays as a number 10, though can play as an eight if required, too.
Where Simons shines in progressive carries, Fernandes made an astonishing 297 progressive passes (8.14 p/90) for United in the league last campaign, putting him in the 98th percentile among attacking midfielders and wingers in the last year, compared to Simons’ 187 (6.04 p/90),emphasising either player’s preferred way of getting the ball up the pitch.
In comparison to Simons, Fernandes rarely takes opposition players on, having only attempted 44 take-ons in the league for United last campaign compared to Simons’ 160 in the Bundesliga.
Though this does not mean that the Portuguese attacking-midfielder does not help to get the ball up the pitch as what he lacks in taking players on, he makes up for with his passing, specifically his long-range passes.
Fernandes attempted 432 long-range passes (12.13 p/90) in the league last campaign and completed over half of them at 229 (6.25 p/90), putting him convincingly in the 99th percentile in both metrics for players in his position across the last year.
On top of that, Fernandes also boasts an extremely high progressive passing distance p/90, covering 285.82 yards in progressive passes p/90 minutes in the Premier League.
How would Simons fit in at Man Utd?
If a swap deal was to take place, then regardless of Simons’ arrival United would have a hard time replacing Fernandes. Simons and Fernandes are not like-for-like players, so a seamless transition tactical-wise for Ten Hag seems doubtful.
However, that is not to say that Simons would not be a success playing in Fernandes’ position, as he has shown that he is more than capable of playing as a number 10 during his relatively short professional career.
The arrival of Joshua Zirkzee gives Ten Hag food for thought in his attacking options and where he chooses to deploy his players.
The re-emergence of Sancho and the talented Alejandro Garnacho would seem to have the left-wing role nailed down, though if Sancho was to be involved in the double swap deal then Simons could rival Garnacho for that left-wing role.
Furthermore, if Fernandes were to depart then a huge vacancy would need to be filled in the number 10 role, something which Simons could certainly do.
Nevertheless, it remains unclear as to where Ten Hag will utilise Zirkzee, given the fact that Rasmus Hojlund will likely continue to be United’s starting striker moving forwards.
One thing is for certain though, if Simons was to make the switch to Old Trafford, he certainly wouldn’t be prepared to be a bench option.
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