Bundesliga star snubs Manchester City transfer interest in favour of Chelsea | OneFootball

Amid interest from several top teams across Europe this summer, including Manchester City, RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons wants to take his talents elsewhere in England.

During the most recent European Championships tournament, one of the top names to follow was that of the Dutch international forward, who bagged a goal and three assists across his six appearances at the competition.

It was this performance on the continental stage that came before Simons would make his return to RB Leipzig, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, for the 2024/25 season, and in his first year with the Bundesliga side, he would find the back of the net on eight occasions, dishing out 11 assists, en route to a fourth-place finish.

Given these contributions, as well as his stellar performance in the first half of the season, the German club made the move permanent, paying €50 million to the Parisians in the January transfer window earlier this year.

However, this has not stopped multiple clubs – including Manchester City – from inquiring about the availability of the 22-year-old, and it appears that Leipzig are willing to do a deal for the Dutch forward in the region of €80 million, as reported by ESPN’s Julien Laurens.

While a move to the reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich or the English top flight could be in the cards for Simons, it appears that the Allianz Arena or the Etihad Stadium will not be his destination, as he prefers Stamford Bridge.

“Simons has told the club that he only wants a transfer to Chelsea, despite interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester City,” reports Laurens.

The snub comes during a period of uncertainty surrounding Pep Guardiola’s squad, with forwards such as Savinho and Claudio Echeverri potentially exiting the club on loan, with Jack Grealish already doing so by joining Everton for the season earlier in the week.

With the transfer window shutting at the end of this month, there still lies plenty of time for anything to happen involving Xavi Simon’s potential move out of the Red Bull Arena.