Netherlands midfielder Xavi Simons leaves PSV Eindhoven to return to Paris Saint-Germain

By India Today Sports Desk: PSV Eindhoven have announced that Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons will return to PSG after only one season in the Eredivisie. The 20-year-old initially failed to make the grade in Paris and ran down his contract to return to his homeland last summer, where he shone under Ruud van Nistelrooy’s tutelage.

Simons came up with a remarkable 22 goals and 12 assists from 48 games in the PSV jersey, helping the Eindhoven giants win the KNVB Beker and Dutch Super Cup. Nineteen of Simons’ goals came in 34 Eredivisie games, and he finished the season as the league’s second-highest scorer, trailing FC Utrecht’s 20-goal attacker Anastasios Douvikas.

Simons signed a five-year contract with PSV when he arrived in the Netherlands last summer, but PSG inserted a buyback clause into his contract, which was set at a modest €6 million (ã5.2 million).

Nonetheless, Simons downplayed the possibility of leaving PSV during the current transfer window last month, despite reported Premier League interest from Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool.

PSG, on the other hand, have now activated their cheap buyback clause to give Simons a second chance at the Parc des Princes, and PSV have confirmed that the midfielder has left their training camp to finalise his return.

Between 2019 and 2022, the 20-year-old made just 11 appearances for Les Parisiens’ senior team after leaving Barcelona’s famed academy to represent the French powerhouses.

Simons will have his medical and sign his contract today, but he may not be offered an immediate return to Luis Enrique’s squad, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, who believes he could be loaned out for the 2023-24 season.

Romano claims that PSG will let Simons leave temporarily if Kylian Mbappe and Neymar both stay at the club this summer, but if one or both leave, he will remain in Paris.