Tottenham Hotspur have submitted a formal offer to trump Chelsea in the race to sign RB Leipzig’s versatile forward Xavi Simons this summer, as per Florian Plettenberg.
Simons is keen on leaving Leipzig, with reports indicating that the Premier League is his favoured destination. The player is believed to be in London after being granted permission to travel to the English capital, where his future would be decided.
The Dutchman has been on Chelsea’s radar for most of the summer, with reports suggesting his preference for a move to Stamford Bridge after accepting personal terms.
However, it appears Tottenham are now set to steal a march on their London rivals, as Plettenberg claims that the North London outfit have submitted an official formal offer to Leipzig to formalise the transfer of Simons.
The German football transfer expert adds that Spurs’ offer is worth a total of £60m and is close to Leipzig’s valuation for the 22-year-old.
Despite Chelsea reportedly agreeing to personal terms with Simons, Plettenberg clarifies that the East London club have not submitted any official offer for the forward yet, with Spurs now in pole position.
Battle for Simons
Tottenham need a No. 10 since James Maddison’s injury and have seen their attempts to sign his replacement prove unsuccessful.
The move for Morgan Gibbs-White broke down after Nottingham Forest threatened a lawsuit over their improper approach, while Arsenal swooped in at the last minute to sign Eberechi Eze from under their noses.
Tottenham’s unrelenting efforts towards securing other high-profile alternatives, like Simons, prove an ambitious statement of intent by the board towards backing Thomas Frank with adequate players to compete for honours this season.
In the previous campaign, he featured 33 times across all competitions for Leipzig, contributing 11 goals and eight assists, even though he missed 15 matches following surgery on a ligament injury in his left ankle.
Frank’s team has been bolstered this summer through the permanent arrivals of forwards Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel — the latter having spent the second half of the 2024-25 campaign on loan at Spurs — together with the loan acquisition of Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich.
With a formal bid now lodged for Simons, Spurs must also move quickly to reach an agreement on personal terms with the Dutchman to avoid another Eze-esque scenario.