Xavi Simons – explains why he picked Tottenham over Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur recently completed the signing of Xavi Simons from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. Chelsea had been extensively linked with the services of the winger but failed to strike a deal with the German side ahead of their London rivals.

Tottenham Hotspur on Friday announced that Xavi Simons had joined the club in a £52 million move. The Dutch prodigy was keen on the move away from the Bundesliga himself and even felt comfortable skipping a few training sessions in order to push through his exit.

Chelsea and Enzo Maresca were always believed to be the front-runners in the race to sign Simons. The youngster was also tipped for a move to Stamford Bridge. However, Tottenham’s relentless push in the past week to sign Xavi after missing out to Arsenal in the signing of Eberechi Eze has paid dividends.

Xavi’s Tottenham contract

As reported by Essential Football before, Xavi was already in London to undergo his medical. As the player underwent the medical formalities, the two negotiating parties were quick in wrapping up the deal, allowing Tottenham to make an official announcement.

Xavi has signed a long-term contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The tenure of the contract is 5 years with an option to extend it by an additional 2 years in the future.

Thomas Frank had been in desperate need of a player who could fill the James Madison void, and Xavi Simons ticks most of the boxes. The youngster is versatile and can be deployed in various attacking positions. Simons will take the number 7 jersey, which was recently vacated by club legend Son Heung-min.

Learn all the background details of the Xavi Simons transfer

What did Xavi Simons have to say about his transfer?

Following his transfer, Simons was full of energy and expressed his desire to begin this new chapter in his footballing career. Prior to RB Leipzig, Simons has played for top-rated football clubs across Europe like Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and PSV-Eindhoven. The 22-year-old Dutchman also revealed club boss Thomas Frank to be the driving factor behind him choosing to play for Tottenham over Chelsea. Xavi Simons said on the official Spurs website –

“I’m really happy and can’t wait to get going. I’ve been dreaming of this for a long time. It’s a great Club and when I met the Head Coach I knew straight away that this was the right place for me.

First of all, the project, I think it suits me. The second thing, I think the most important thing for me, is the coach. I spoke to him, he showed me a presentation that really impacted me and that was the final decision for me. The right coach, the right people and I really believe that we will achieve really good things here.”

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Why did Chelsea pull out?

Despite being the leaders in the race, the Blues were not successful in landing their summer transfer target. Chelsea, in the past week, channeled their resources into striking a deal with Manchester United for Alejandro Garnacho.

Chelsea splashed nearly £40 million for the Argentinian winger in a deal which took a long time to get over the line.