A fortnight ago, former Dutch international Johan Boskamp sparked quite the debate in the Netherlands when claiming that PSV Eindhoven starlet Xavi Simons was deserving of a place in Louis van Gaal’s World Cup squad.
“He thinks much faster than other players. That is really not normal,” Boskamp told Verona Inside of the former Paris Saint-Germain starlet, reared in Barcelona’s La Masia academy and a former team-mate of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
“You can really see that he has trained with great players. Really fantastic.”
Simons, at just 19 years of age, is yet to make his senior Dutch bow. In fact, he’s only got one cap for the U21s. But Boskamp’s argument received the perfect backing on Thursday night; the Amsterdam-born teenager producing a performance far beyond his tender years during PSV’s well-deserved 2-0 victory over Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League group-stages.
Xavi Simons masterclass helps PSV beat Arsenal
“Xavi Simons was very good,” former Ajax midfielder Kenneth Perez said; a player who wasn’t even born the first time Arsenal and PSV met in 2002 running rings around a Gunners side who had previously lost just one game in all competitions all season (ESPN).
“Really very good, against the number one team in the Premier League. Very good. In the Netherlands, he has already shown that he is good, but this is a slightly different level. He is not the biggest, but he is super strong and muscular. He made it very difficult for Arsenal with his cleverness.”
Simons’ mesmerising footwork and ability to squirrel out of the tightest gaps was exactly what you’d expect from a player with Barca blood running through his veins. Only a tight VAR call denied him a wonderful individual goal on the stroke of half-time too.
“Together with Cody Gakpo, he is the most important player of PSV this season,” adds ex-Holland striker Pierre van Hooijdonk. “He has already shown enough. Simons is one of the three best players in the Netherlands.”
What could’ve been for Giovanni van Bronckhorst
It is well documented that, before his ill-fated move to Aston Villa a year ago, Steven Gerrard wanted Joey Veerman at Ibrox. The former Heerenveen captain slammed home PSV’s opener against Arsenal following a lay-off from the excellent Luuk de Jong.
Veerman was not the only player who joined PSV after attracting interest from Glasgow, however. Per AS, Giovanni van Bronckhorst was desperate to take Simons to Rangers nine months ago. The 2022 Europa League runners-up made contact with the late-Mino Raiola (Simons’ then-agent) while offering him the chance to become ‘the cornerstone of their project’.
And how Rangers missed a player of Simons’ steel-clad self-confidence and youthful exuberance during their own European campaign. Lose heavily against Ajax on matchday six and they will officially become the worst team ever to feature in the Champions League group-stages. Rangers look like a side crying out for the guile and unpredictability a player like Simons brings.
Their loss, then, is most certainly PSV’s gain.
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