Man United could sign their next Ryan Giggs with £60m stunning transfer swoop
The Red Devils are said to be considering a move for a highly-rated Bundesliga winner
In their last Europa League outing, Manchester United pulled off a European comeback that even Sir Alex Ferguson would be proud of. They came back from two goals down to score three quickfire goals in the space of five minutes, securing a win 5-4 during a roller-coaster European showdown with Lyon.
It was a result that manager Ruben Amorim had hoped would be a turning point or something that would kick-start his era at Old Trafford, before receiving a stark reminder of the seismic task in front of him in the transfer window as his side fell to a previously unthinkable 15th defeat of the league season in a 1-0 loss to Wolves. The Red Devils looked simply devoid of ideas and creativity in an uneventful contest at Old Trafford, which was ultimately decided by a wonder strike from Pablo Sarabia.
It leaves United just two points ahead of 17th position and if it wasn’t for the poor standard of the bottom three this term, there would be genuine fears of the club dropping down if they were on 38 points at this stage of the season. West Ham, for example, in the 2002/03 season actually went down with 42 points, while Sheffield United were relegated with 38 back in in 2006/07.
Given the riches that United have at their disposal, there’s no way this club should be outside of the top six places, never mind the bottom half of the table, but over the years this has been a rotting squad that is in desperate need of repair.
Man Utd target Xavi Simons
United’s goal tally of 38 is the 14th lowest in the Premier League this season, and they have failed to score in nine league matches already since Amorim took the reins in November.
Scoring goals is a big issue from a Red Devils perspective and while a large portion of the blame is attributed towards the likes of Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund for their poor numbers, it’s also clear that the Old Trafford club simply don’t create enough opportunities to have a significantly better output - even if they had better strikers at their disposal. This has prompted speculation surrounding a move for RB Leipzig wonderkid Xavi Simons, as per German outlet Bild.
Simons is a 22-year-old Netherlands international, who can be deployed as both a left winger and a central attacking midfielder. He’s blessed with quick feet, great speed, excellent technique, impressive vision and an eye for both a goal and an assist. The youngster came through the academy at Paris Saint-Germain but really made a name for himself when he was sold to PSV Eindhoven in 2022 when he scored 22 goals and contributed 11 assists across all competitions in Dutch football.
The French champions swiftly activated a reported £6m buy-back clause but opted to loan the player out to RB Leipzig for the next two and a half seasons before ultimately sanctioning his permanent sale this January. Over the course of three seasons in the Bundesliga, he’s scored 20 and assisted 21 in 72 appearances across all competitions and was notably named in last season’s Team of the Year.
Leipzig signed Xavi (contract until 2027) from Paris Saint-Germain for €50 million in the winter, with the idea of selling him this summer. RB Leipzig wants to cash in on him. The price tag is around €70 million (£60m), with Liverpool also showing interest as per The Echo.
Xavi Simons could give Man United the spark they need
Manchester United’s top assist maker in the league this season is Bruno Fernandes with 11 followed by Amad Diallo with seven before his injury. After that their top assist maker is Diogo Dalot from right-back with four while Alejandro Garnacho is the only other player with three or more league assists.
Simons on the other hand has produced at least five or more league assists in all three seasons of his career, with 11 last term and eight in the Eredvisie while also regularly finding the net himself.
This season’s tally of five is his lowest in a league season although there’s still games to be played and he has missed a significant portion of the year due to injury. Simons was also one of the bright sparks of Euro 2024 with one goal - a screamer against England - and three assists for the semi-finalists.
United’s teams at their best have always had excellent creative players and there is perhaps nobody that epitomises that better than Ryan Giggs, who recorded a total of 162 assists in the Premier League era and an average of around 7.3 per season which is similar to Simons current tally of around 8 in the last three seasons since playing regularly.
A move for Simons would prove United’s intent to get back to where they belong, and would represent a genuine coup should they manage to beat the likes of Liverpool to his signature. Amorim will be hoping a summer of relentless work behind the scenes will see a much-changed side ready to go all guns blazing into the 2025/26 campaign, and Simons would be an ideal figure to shake off the cobwebs and see the Red Devils thrive once again.