Man City make approach to sign “exceptional” £61m talent

Will Manchester City make a statement signing before the transfer window closes?

Earlier this summer, back before the Club World Cup, the Sky Blues signed Rayan Aït-Nouri, Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders for a combined £103m, all three debuting stateside during the summer.

Since, Pep Guardiola has brought James Trafford back to the club from Burnley, potentially to usurp Ederson as the first-choice goalkeeper, we’ll have to wait and see, but will the Sky Blues now make a serious splash in the market before the window slams shut on 1 September?

Manchester City targeting attacking talent

As was reported by Fabrizio Romano on Monday, Manchester City are “considering” a move for Real Madrid winger Rodrygo.

This comes after Jack Grealish has agreed to join Everton on a season-long loan, the Toffees have an option to make the deal permanent for £50m next summer, while Tottenham are in talks to sign Savinho for around £43m.

Thus, this could both raise the funds and create space in the squad for a high-profile attacking arrival, so could it be Rodrygo, who has purportedly been targeted by Arsenal, Spurs and others throughout this window?

Or, should Manchester City prioritise signing an even more talented attacker who is stylistically very similar to the Brazilian?

Well, according to reports on the continent, Manchester City have “entered the race” to sign Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig, adding that contact has been made with the Dutchman’s agent.

It has appeared only a matter of time until Simons moved to Chelsea, with the two clubs seemingly haggling over a free; the Bundesliga side are reportedly holding out for £61m, having paid £43m to make his move from PSG permanent as recently as January.

Now though, could Man City gazump their Premier League rivals and convince the Netherlands international to move to the Etihad, rather than Stamford Bridge?

What Xavi Simons would bring to Manchester City

There’s no doubt that Simons is a high-quality player, having already produced so much at just 22 years old.

After not getting much of a look-in at Paris Saint-Germain, his breakthrough came at PSV Eindhoven in the 2022/23 season, scoring 22 goals and registering 11 assists in just 48 appearances for the Eredivisie giants.

Since moving to RB Leipzig, he’s racked up 21 goals and 23 assists in 76 outings for die Roten Bullen, as per Transfermarkt, but is now seemingly desperate to leave Saxony, after his side finished seventh in the Bundesliga, thereby failing to qualify for any European competition.

Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund has certainly been impressed, labelling Simons “an exceptional player”, while scout António Mango believes that he is “tactically flexible…dynamic” and intelligent when forced to operate in tight spaces.

Meantime, Sultan Babajide of Breaking the Lines outlines how he can be deployed both as an inside-forward or a number ten, tactical flexibility Guardiola would surely appreciate, praising his “explosiveness…. creative passing” and powerful 1vs1 dribbling.

So, let’s assess how Simons and Rodrygo compared to one another in the Champions League last season, having been deemed to be stylistically similar players, as per FBref.

Worth mentioning the caveat, first and foremost, that Simons only played five Champions League matches last season, partially due to injury, but also because RB Leipzig were generally hopeless in the league phase, winning once and losing their other seven fixtures, thereby finishing 32nd.

Nevertheless, the Dutchman still produced impressive numbers, ranking in the top 2% for both shots and shot-creating actions, also more impressive than Rodrygo in terms of successful take-ons and key passes.

In summary, the data tells us that Simons is much more of a creative force, while Rodrygo enjoys a dribble and is more of a goal threat in terms of scoring himself.

Nevertheless, in Manchester City’s case, when you’ve got Erling Braut Håland spearheading your forward line, more creativity is probably what you’re after, so perhaps Simons would prove the shrewder addition after all.