Back in the summer, it was said that Rangers and Barcelona both wanted to sign Xavi Simons.
It was AS who claimed that Giovanni van Bronckhorst wanted the 19-year-old at Ibrox, whereas Le Parisien revealed that Barcelona were planning to pinch the teenager from PSG.
Eventually, it was PSV Eindhoven who won the race to sign Simons – now, the Dutch wonderkid is certainly making Rangers and Barcelona regret missing out on him.
Xavi Simons shows Rangers & Barcelona what they could have had
Last night, the Amsterdam-born prodigy scored again for PSV Eindhoven as the Eredivisie outfit recorded a 5-1 win over FC Zürich in the Europa League.
Impressively, Simons has now scored eight goals in 13 appearances this season, while he has also provided four assists for his teammates.
At the age of 19, that is some effort from the PSV Eindhoven No.7 – especially as this is his first proper taste of senior football, following a few cameo outings at PSG.
Furthermore, Simons has also played in a range of different positions this season, which showcases his versatility as well as his tactical maturity – he has been deployed on both flanks, as well as in the centre of the attack.
Rangers & Barcelona have surely missed the boat
Cleverly, PSV Eindhoven locked Simons into a long-term contract running until July 2027.
Therefore, Rangers and Barcelona now face paying a massive fee if they are to lure the Dutchman away from his homeland.
Of course, this ship may not have sailed just yet for Barcelona, as the Spanish giants are still able to make significant signings despite their financial issues, as we saw in deals for Jules Kounde and Raphinha.
However, Rangers are not as mighty from a financial aspect, so a deal for Simons – who is surely worth at least £30m right now – could be out of their grasp.
Whatever happens, Van Bronckhorst and Xavi will kick themselves for missing out on this blossoming talent.
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