L’Équipe report that Dutch attacking midfielder Xavi Simons will return to PSG after a year in Eindhoven with a decision to make.
Having activated the €6m buy-back clause in the 20-year-old’s contract, Paris will discuss with the player whether to integrate him into the first team or allow another season of development away from Ligue 1 after an impressive campaign for PSV, in which he ended as the Eredivisie’s joint-top goalscorer with 19 strikes.
The preference is for the latter, with both Simons and the club agreeing on RB Leipzig as the preferred destination. For the player to stay at PSG this term, he would need guarantees on playing time under new coach Luis Enrique and for at least one of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, both major obstacles to first-team football, to leave Paris this summer. The sports daily report that the player’s entourage is keen for him to move on loan as a result and return when both players have left.
PSG would likely look to insert a purchase option in any loan deal but add a second clause that states the French club can override that option by paying a smaller amount to the other club as a way to incentivize a loan deal. The same idea was used when Arnaud Kalimuendo joined Lens on loan – a €6m purchase option was cancelled by PSG paying Lens €1.5m before Kalimuendo was sold for €25m to Rennes.
Adam White | GFFN
