Tottenham Hotspur may have one factor working in their favour in their efforts to beat Chelsea to Xavi Simons, but wages could prove an issue.
Over the last few hours, it has been reported that Chelsea are prioritising other attackers over Simons, which has opened the door for Tottenham to complete a late hijack.
However, earlier today, Florian Plettenberg revealed that Simons is still waiting for Chelsea despite Tottenham’s serious efforts to hijack the deal.
The journalist claimed that Spurs have reached out to Leipzig to express a serious interest in a deal for the Dutchman, with the Bundesliga club telling Thomas Frank’s men to pay up £60m for the player.
Daniel Levy’s relationship with Leipzig could help Spurs in Simons deal
It has now been reported by BILD that Tottenham’s pursuit of the Netherlands international is ‘getting really hot’.
It is explained that when Spurs approached Simons’ agent earlier this summer, they were told that the player wanted a move to Chelsea, but the move to Stamford Bridge has now stalled, thus opening the door for the Lilywhites.
The report says that the Tottenham hierarchy have an excellent relationship with Leipzig, with Daniel Levy knowing the German club’s supervisory board chairman, Oliver Mintzlaff, very well.
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This could help facilitate the transfer, and it is suggested that Spurs will not have issues meeting Leipzig’s asking price for the 22-year-old.
Tottenham wage structure may struggle to convince Xavi Simons
However, Bild say that Spurs still have work to do to convince the attacking midfielder regarding a switch to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Additionally, it is revealed that Simons is on a contract of €11m (£9.5m) per year at Leipzig, and he is thought to be demanding a significant pay rise, and it is suggested that meeting the former Paris Saint-Germain star’s salary demands may be a problem for the Lilywhites.