PSV Eindhoven have announced that Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons will be returning to Paris Saint-Germain after just one year in the Eredivisie.
The 20-year-old initially failed to make the grade in the French capital and ran down his contract to return to his homeland last summer, where he shone under the wing of Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Simons came up with a remarkable 22 goals and 12 assists from 48 games in a PSV jersey, helping the Eindhoven giants win the KNVB Beker and Dutch Super Cup.
Nineteen of Simons's strikes came from 34 Eredivisie matches, and he ended the season as the league's second-highest scorer behind 20-goal FC Utrecht attacker Anastasios Douvikas.
Upon his arrival in the Netherlands last summer, Simons signed a five-year deal with PSV, but PSG inserted a buyback clause into his contract, set at a modest €6m (£5.2m).
© Reuters
Nevertheless, Simons played down the prospect of an exit from PSV in the current transfer window last month, despite reported interest from the Premier League in the shape of Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.
However, PSG have now triggered their cheap buyback clause to give Simons a second chance at the Parc des Princes, and PSV have now confirmed that the midfielder has departed their training camp to finalise his return.
The 20-year-old previously made just 11 appearances for Les Parisiens' senior team between 2019 and 2022, having left Barcelona's famed academy to represent the French powerhouses.
Simons will undergo his medical and sign his contract today, but he may not be offered an immediate route back into Luis Enrique's squad, though, as journalist Fabrizio Romano reports that he could still be loaned out for the 2023-24 campaign.
Romano claims that PSG will let Simons leave temporarily if Kylian Mbappe and Neymar both stay at the club this summer, but if one or both leave, he will remain in Paris.
Xavi Simons has departed from the PSV training camp in Austria to complete a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
— PSV (@PSV) July 16, 2023
PSG are desperate to sell Mbappe amid his refusal to extend his contract beyond the end of next season, but the Frenchman has affirmed that he plans to stay put and will make a decision on his future in 2024.
Meanwhile, Chelsea and clubs in Saudi Arabia are thought to be keeping tabs on Neymar's situation, but PSG are not believed to be actively trying to offload the Brazil international at this moment in time.
Either way, Netherlands international Simons is set to become PSG's seventh signing of a busy summer window, following Lucas Hernandez, Cher Ndour, Lee Kang-in, Milan Skriniar, Marco Asensio and Manuel Ugarte to the club.
The 2003-born protege occupied a variety of roles for PSV last season, but he predominantly played as a left winger in the second half of the campaign, having previously starred as a number 10 and centre-forward.
Ben Knapton
