Newcastle United are set to miss out on Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons in favour of a move to Spain, according to reports.
Simons, 21, spent last season on loan at RB Leipzig from PSG having been at PSV the season before.
The Dutch international was wanted by several clubs across Europe, including Chelsea, Newcastle, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Leipzig.
Despite the interest, Simons is expected to reject those offers to pursue a move back to Barcelona where he spent nine years as a youth star.
According to MundoDeportivo, the Magpies were interested in bringing Simons in on loan for the 2024/25 season. Unfortunately for them, any approach has been rejected and Simons looks set to move to Spain to link up with new Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick.
PSG head coach Luis Enrique reportedly had plans to keep Simons in the squad before any decision was made.
The attacking midfielder had a fantastic season at Leipzig, scoring eight and providing 13 assists.
Newcastle's midfield is not an area that is short on quality. Next season should everything remain the same, there will be a midfield three of Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.
Many will argue that those three make up one of the best midfield trio's in the league. There is depth on the bench with Sean Longstaff, Lewis Miley, Elliot Anderson and Joe Willock but there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to quality.
Craig Hope of the Daily Mail recently said that midfield is not a priority for improvement. If there is an opportunity to bring a good quality player like Simons in then Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will have a big decision to make regarding how his transfer kitty is spent.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
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1 |
Liverpool
|
12 | 16 | 31 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
12 | 5 | 23 |
3 |
Chelsea
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
4 |
Arsenal
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
5 |
Brighton
|
12 | 5 | 22 |
6 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
12 | 14 | 19 |
7 |
Nottingham Forest
|
12 | 2 | 19 |
8 |
Aston Villa
|
12 | 0 | 19 |
9 |
Fulham
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
10 |
Newcastle United
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
11 |
Brentford
|
12 | 0 | 17 |
12 |
Manchester United
|
12 | 0 | 16 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
12 | -1 | 15 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
12 | -4 | 15 |
15 |
Everton
|
12 | -7 | 11 |
16 |
Leicester
|
12 | -8 | 10 |
17 |
Wolves
|
12 | -8 | 9 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
12 | -10 | 9 |
19 |
Crystal Palace
|
12 | -7 | 8 |
20 |
Southampton
|
12 | -15 | 4 |