One to Watch: Xavi Simons

Xavi Simons is set to make his international debut on the biggest stage so I went and researched on why Simons is one of the World's top prospects.

Simons joined his first academy at the age of five, after being signed by CD Thader. After spending two years there, he joined the iconic youth setup at Barcelona. Simons quickly became one of the club’s most highly rated youth players. 

At such a young age, He was attracting interest from clubs across Europe and after nine years at La Masia, He moved to Paris Saint-Germain when he failed to agree a new deal with the Spanish club.

On the 10th of February 2021, Simons made his professional debut for PSG, coming on as a substitute in a Coupe de France game and PSG won the competition that year, which was Simons’ first professional trophy in his career. 

Ahead of the 2021–22 season, Simons was included in the first-team preparation and pre-season by manager Mauricio Pochettino. He scored goals in pre-season friendlies against Le Mans and Chambly respectively but when the season started, Simons was sent back to train with the under-19's.

He only made 11 appearances in professional games in France but before he moved back to Holland, He won Ligue 1 with PSG. At the end of the season, Simons signed for Eredivisie club PSV on a five-year contract, However, PSG negotiated a buy-back clause in Simons’ contract, effective in 2023.

I honestly think Simons will be a great player in the future and people need to remember that he is only a teenager. He has over 10 years left in his career, and he just needs to keep his head in the game.

This is the perfect opportunity for him, if he takes any part of a World Cup game, he will try his hardest to cement his spot in the squad. Alternatively, if he doesn’t take part in any game, that could be the catalyst for him to work harder to have a more prominent part on the squad, when the World Cup goes to North America in 2026.