Florian Plettenberg and Fabrizio Romano have both provided updates on Chelsea’s pursuit of RB Leipzig attacker Xavi Simons.
The Netherlands international is expected to swap the Bundesliga for the Premier League this summer, though Chelsea have yet to make an official offer.
Simons has scored 21 goals and registered 23 assists in 76 appearances for Leipzig, and he has asked to leave the club following their failure to qualify for the Champions League.
He’s established himself as one of the most exciting attacking midfielders in Europe during his time in Germany and now appears set for a move to west London.
Chelsea have already reached an agreement with Ajax to sign Simons’ international teammate, Jorrel Hato, and Fabrizio Romano confirmed earlier this week that the Blues are confident they’ll land the Leipzig maestro as well.
Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg shared an update on Friday, claiming that ‘a verbal agreement is almost done’, but that Chelsea still need to sell players before making a bid.
Plettenberg wrote on X: “Chelsea are still working on a deal for #Xavi Simons. A verbal agreement is almost done. There’s still a strong feeling that the deal will go through…
“Chelsea are ready to submit an official bid, but further player offloads are needed first. The Xavi Simons deal is currently independent of Chelsea’s interest in Alejandro Garnacho.”
Manchester United winger Garnacho remains linked with a move to Stamford Bridge after being transfer listed by Ruben Amorim.
Plettenberg’s wording suggests that Garnacho could still join the Blues — even if Simons signs.
Transfer expert Romano also weighed in after Simons appeared to send a ‘transfer message’ by removing RB Leipzig from his Instagram bio.
The Italian wrote on X: “Xavi Simons removing RB Leipzig from his Instagram bio, seen as transfer message: he wants Chelsea move.
“Negotiations remain advanced, more work to do to get it done, but Xavi has 2 years left on his contract and won’t extend.”
With Chelsea needing player sales to fund an opening offer for Simons, the club is working on a deal to send out-of-favour striker Armando Broja to Burnley.
The Clarets, freshly promoted to the Premier League, have added Manchester City legend Kyle Walker — among others — to bolster their squad.
First reported by Fabrice Hawkins, it’s believed there’s an ‘agreement reached’ between Burnley and Chelsea, with the Albanian international ‘set to join’ after giving the ‘green light to travel for the medical’.
This has since been confirmed by Romano, who delivered his trademark ‘Here we go’ on Friday night.
Romano stated that Broja’s move to Turf Moor will be a permanent transfer, not a loan.
The fee hasn’t been disclosed, but ‘it’s over between Chelsea and Broja’ — especially after the London club agreed to loan striker Marc Guiu to Sunderland.
It’s also reported that Chelsea are looking to offload Christopher Nkunku and Raheem Sterling, while Nicolas Jackson could also depart — with Simons and Garnacho said to be ‘high on their list’.