£61m superstar now “only wants” to sign for Chelsea

As they do every year, Chelsea have really made the most of the transfer window so far.

The board have been able to shift players like Kepa Arrizabalaga and Noni Madueke while bringing in a handful of seriously exciting and potentially game-changing talents.

The likes of Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens should make them far more dangerous in attack, while Jorrel Hato looks like he could develop into a superstar defender.

Moreover, the Blues clearly want to do even more business before the window closes and have been linked with someone who could be their own Eberechi Eze.

Chelsea target their own Eze

Despite already doing so much business this summer, Chelsea appear intent on bringing in at least a few more players.

For example, the deal for Alejandro Garnacho seems to be moving along at a pace, and Bayer Leverkusen star Piero Hincapié continues to be touted for a move to Stamford Bridge following Levi Colwill’s ACL injury.

However, there is an even more exciting deal the West Londoners could pull off this summer that would see them land someone who could be their own Eze.

At least that is according to a recent report by Kieran Gill, who has reaffirmed Chelsea’s interest in Xavi Simons.

More than that, though, Gill has revealed that, despite interest from Bayern Munich, the RB Leipzig star “only wants Chelsea” this summer.

While no price for the Dutchman is mentioned in the report, stories from earlier this summer claim that a fee of around £61m should be enough to tempt the German side into selling.

It would be a significant investment from Chelsea, but Simons has proven himself over the last few years and could even be their own version of Eze.

Why Simons could be Chelsea’s Eze

Now, even though Simons is five years his junior, and therefore in a different phase of his career and development, there are still some key similarities he shares with Eze, such as his versatility.

For example, even though he has been described as “one of the best 10s in the world” by one analyst, and has spent plenty of time playing there, the 22-year-old dynamo is just as comfortable off the left.

In fact, the Amsterdam-born star is more versatile than the Englishman, as he can also play off the right and has even spent some time playing up top as a centre-forward.

The second similarity with the Palace star is his effectiveness when it comes to goals and assists.

In just 33 appearances for Leipzig last season, totalling 2763 minutes, the dynamic “game-changer,” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, put the ball in the back of the net 11 times and then provided eight assists to boot.

That means that the former PSV Eindhoven gem maintained an average of a goal involvement every 1.73 games, or every 145.42 minutes.

Finally, just as the former QPR gem has been entertaining fans in the Premier League for a few years now, the former Paris Saint-Germain ace is the sort of player who’ll get fans on their feet.

For example, FBref ranked him in the top 3% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Bundesliga last season for passes into the penalty area, through balls and carries into the final third, all per 90.

In other words, on top of his brilliant output, the Flying Dutchman is someone who will progress the game for his side, either with pinpoint accurate passes into dangerous areas, or bringing it there with a dribble.

Ultimately, while it might take him a little while to adjust to the Premier League, Simons looks like he has everything he’d need to be the next Eze, and therefore, Chelsea should be doing all they can to bring him to Stamford Bridge this summer.