On a blinding night in the City of Light, Paris Saint-Germain produced a performance full of resolve, togetherness and dogged determination against none other than Real Madrid.
For once, this Fabergé egg of a football club did not crack under the pressure of a crucial Champions League encounter.
Karim Benzema barely had a kick, a genuine A-list talent reduced to the role of a frustrated extra. Vinicius Jr, too, was kept at arms’ length. As was Marco Asensio.
But four days later, Moses Simon showed the Real Madrid superstars how it’s done. What’s required to break down Mauricio Pochettino’s expensively-assembled backline.
What’s more, it took him just four minutes to crack the code.
Exchanging passes on the wing, Simon raced towards the PSG goal before bisecting Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe with an outside-of-the-boot pass sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel. Randal Kolo Muani gleefully gobbled up the opportunity served up on a silver platter by his Nantes team-mate.
“We didn’t handle the left-hand side of their attack,” bemoaned Pochettino, the runaway league leaders suffering a shock 3-1 at the home of French football’s surprise packages (Own Goal Nigeria).
Is Moses Simon on his way to the Premier League?
Less than a year ago, Nantes needed away goals to secure their top-flight status, surviving by the skin of their teeth in a tense relegation play-off.
Ten months’ on, they’re within touching distance of the Champions League places and preparing for a Coupe de France semi-final clash with an inconsistent Monaco.
But the phrase ‘a victim of their own success’ comes to mind.
Kolo Muani, the quicksilver centre-forward, looks set to join Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer. Simon could follow him out the door, robbing Nantes coach Antoine Koumbouare of his two most influential attackers.
“Simon had so much. We couldn’t handle (him) properly,” Pochettino added after the Nigeria international notched his seventh assist of the season against PSG, following up his stunning free-kick against Reims and those dazzling performances at the African Cup of Nations by overshadowing Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe at a raucous Stade de la Bougeoire.
Leeds or Newcastle?
Simon admitted a few weeks ago that Leeds United had ‘come calling’ for him during the January transfer window. Nantes refused to let their talismanic attacker leave with so much still to play for. But the chances of Simon staying for another season, even if Nantes secure their place amongst Europe’s elite, look slim.
Leeds United are already planning to renew their interest (But! Football Club). What’s more, nouveau-riche Newcastle United are prepared to stump up £17 million for Simon (Own Goal Nigeria).
Such a fee will make him the most expensive export in Nantes’ history, replacing another Magpies target Diego Carlos.
Simon, the report adds, could earn £100,000-a-week at St James’ Park.
One suspects, given that Simon scored the winner during Nantes’ shock win in the capital back in March 2021 too, PSG will be happy to see him go.
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