A 14-years old Xavi Simons first came to fame at Barcelona’s La Masia academy as several YouTube compilations racked up excess of one million views displaying his defence splitting runs and passes. Six years later into the present time he has redefined his career and rose to stardom again after a stretch of time away from the limelight.
The teenager was touted as the next big thing for the
Catalonian club and was compared to many club legends such as Lionel Messi, Andres
Iniesta and Xavi.
But at 16-years-old the Dutch talent opted to take his
talent to French giants PSG. A move which Simons told Spanish outlet Marca was
motivated by the “very nice project” they “trusted” to him.
But what he thought was the beginning of a youth project
transformed into a ‘win now’ situation with the likes of Messi joining
alongside Sergio Ramos.
From his arrival in 2019 to his departure in 2022 the
Dutchman only played 331 minutes in the senior team across eleven appearances.
A disappointing experience which began the search for a new
club that would give him the time to develop and PSV Eindhoven was exactly that.
The move was initially thought to be a loan but Fabrizio Romano confirmed that
the No.7 is contracted to the Eredivisie club till 2027.
This season Ruud van Nistelrooy has entrusted Simons who has
featured in over 40 games producing 18 goals and 11 assists.
“He’s doing everything he can to get to the top, his top.
And where that will be, that’s the beautiful challenge,” the manager said to
Voetbal International.
“That bit in him, wanting to do everything for that, I
recognize that from myself as a player. I can only enjoy that.”
A coach and player relationship that has bounds of mutual
respect. Simons has also spoken highly of van Nistelrooy.
Simons said: “You can see in my game that I really enjoy
playing for both him and the club. He was an incredible striker who scored lots
of goals and I can learn from him. The way he finished them, the action he
used, is incredible.”
The 20-year-old has shown great maturity being able to produce end product across several positions this season whether it is out wide on either flank to accommodate Luuk de Jong, as a number ten or even as a centre forward. A real Swiss army knife.
Simons also caught the eye of Louis van Gaal and was called
up to the Netherlands squad for the Qatar World Cup, his first major international
competition.
He possesses the agility and quick feet allowing him to play
out of tight spaces which is a deadly combination alongside his football IQ developed
from playing as a deep lying midfielder in his youth academy days.
It is rare for players across Europe to display such a
cultured style of football developed only via the best clubs in the world with elders
to learn from. Simmons is proof that there is beauty in simplicity as he
strides and glides across the field with a supreme technical ability only those
at La Masia or De Toekomst (Ajax academy) have.
Simmons is not the fastest, he is not the strongest but in combination
with his great understanding of the game and shining confidence he will find
the key to football’s elite.
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