Posted on December 20, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. by Hadrien Grenier
With his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expiring on June 30, Xavi Simons has finally been offered a start with the Paris club's first team. The start of the long-term work of the capital club to reverse the current trend towards a free start at the end of the season for the mid-18?
The subject of youth management at Paris Saint-Germain has generated tension among observers since the start of this season, and this is particularly the case with Xavi Simons. Brilliant in U19, determining in both the Youth League and the league, the 18-year-old had never known the slightest tenure with the Parisian club's first team. Worse, while he was training with the pro group at the start of the year, he was finally sent back to the Zoumana Camara team because of the large number of Mauricio Pochettino that Leonardo did not manage to degrease this summer. Since, Xavi Simons was chomping at the bit backstage while waiting for an opportunity to show off his talent. At the end of the contract on June 30, the former nugget of FC Barcelona even thinks of slamming the door on this date by not extending to finally have minutes in the first team of a another team, and this while PSG would nevertheless like him to sign a new contract which would bind him to the club in the long term.
“Xavi Simons had a very good match”, launches Mauricio Pochettino
Only here, this Sunday, the long-awaited moment has finally arrived: Xavi Simons played with the pros. Better yet, he played the entire match against the modest team of Feignies-Aulnoye playing in National 3 for the 32nd final of the French Cup . Admittedly, he was not the toughest opponent possible, but it was still his first start in pro, something that always comes with pressure. This pressure, Xavi Simons knew how to master it perfectly as he had a very attractive match. The Amsterdam native has effectively flaunted his ability to exploit space, with and without the ball, while combining quickly with his partners (notably Kylian Mbappé ) thanks to its ability to play with a touch of the ball. Certainly, he sometimes showed waste, but his performance on his right wing was really satisfactory with a total of 93 balls touched, 5 key passes and 7 duels won out of 13.
And this allowed him to receive the praises of Mauricio Pochettino after the meeting, the Parisian coach even opened the door to its more frequent use in his team. “Xavi Simons had a very good game, and especially for 90 minutes, like the other youngsters. They fight and train well. They usually play with the U19s and this type of match gives them the opportunity to integrate, to stay with the players of the first team and to create automatisms that will be important to them for the future ”, confided the Argentinian in press conference in comments reported by CulturePSG. Are we to understand that Xavi Simons will be present in the group against Lorient next Wednesday on behalf of the last match of Ligue 1 before the winter break? This would be a very strong signal to the young player represented by Mino Raiola , who makes his inclusion in the pro squad a sine qua non for an extension of his contract. As it stands, this condition is not met, and this is why it is announced with insistence on the departure in the press, sometimes for a return to FC Barcelona , sometimes for a finish in Bundesliga .
“For me it's a pleasure to play with the pros”
For his part, Xavi Simons took the opportunity to implicitly send a message about his situation. Yes, he wants to join the first team in which he had a lot of fun this Sunday. “For me it's a pleasure to play with the pros. I enjoy ! We have very good, high level players. It’s easy to play football, ”he told Eurosport at half-time before handing it over to PSG TV. “Personally, I felt good, I'm very happy, because it's my first start, and I played the whole game. It's really nice to play with these top players, and I will continue to work, ”said the right-hander. While waiting to see if this tenure is synonymous with the premise of a new role for him at PSG , Xavi Simons will in any case work assiduously as he has always done for a long time. now. In its edition of this Monday, L’EQUIPE specifies that the Parisian nugget is described as an extremely involved and professional boy, working a lot both at the club and outside. It remains to be hoped that all his efforts will now be rewarded within PSG , which has everything to gain by giving him a chance to prevent him from leaving for free in a little more than six months.