Arsenal £52m target has 'no intention' of staying in Ligue 1

Arsenal were reported to be ‘very interested’ in signing the Paris Saint-Germain winger Xavi Simons who is currently having a fantastic season on loan at RB Leipzig. The initial report, as seen on LondonWorld, also indicated that the Gunners do have the necessary funds to sign him when the summer transfer window opens up.

The 21-year-old has now provided an update on his summer transfer wishes which should please any Arsenal fans hopeful of securing his services this summer.

The winger has accrued 24 goal contributions for RB Leipzig this season, scoring nine goals and registering a further 15 assists which has quickly attracted eyes from around Europe, including Arsenal, Bayern Munich and La Liga giants Barcelona.

It had been imagined that Simons would return to the Ligue 1 champions this summer to continue his development but the 13-time Dutch international has given the Emirates board reason to hope by indicating he has ‘no intention’ of returning to Parc des Princes at the end of the season.

As reported in Sport, Simons imagines he will be parting ways with PSG this summer amid reports that the Ligue 1 champions’ plans for next season do not include him. While the Dutch winger’s ultimate dream would be to join Barcelona on loan, PSG are hoping to raise significant funds through Simons’ sale which would make any permanent move to Camp Nou exceptionally tricky.

Simons was formally part of the Barcelona youth set up, joining the Catalan club in 2010 before heading to PSG in 2017. He was then sold to PSV Eindhoven for one season in 2022 before re-signing with PSG last summer. Given Barcelona’s current financial predicament, it would be exceptionally tricky for them to fork out the required €60m (£52m) for Simons’ signature, subsequently giving hope to both Arsenal and Bayern Munich who have asked about the player in ‘recent days’, although neither club is yet to have made any formal offer.

With Mikel Arteta’s side ‘very interested’ in the player, it is believed they would have to step up their pursuit since Leipzig are in advanced negotiations with PSG. Sport don’t make it clear if they are looking for another loan deal or to buy Simons.