Liverpool have been keeping a close eye on RB Leipzig wizard Xavi Simons, who is a potential signing for the Reds if their interest in Florian Wirtz doesn’t pay dividends.
The Bayer Leverkusen playmaker is one of the best No.10s in the world and is yet to show the full extent of his abilities and at 21, he could be the next superstar to move to Anfield.
However, reports from the BBC suggest a package deal to sign Wirtz would cost in the region of €300million (£252m) once his transfer fee, wages and agent commission fees are paid.
?? As reported: The #Wirtz family were in Liverpool last week …
ManCity were ready to make progress but #MCFC are out of the race after new talks, according to @SamiMokbel_BBC. Despite other reports, ManCity never made an official offer, as has always been reported.
FC… pic.twitter.com/KhbRHBNvnD
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) May 19, 2025
Also starring in the Bundesliga, Simons actually has not too dissimilar numbers to Wirtz and would be a much more affordable option.
Wirtz has 16 goals and 15 assists while Simons has 11 goals and eight assists. The difference in the price tags says a lot with Simons said to be available for as little as £50m this summer.
TeamTalk reports: “It’s understood Leipzig would be looking for a fee in the region of €60m (£50.5m, $67.6m) for Simons, with both the playmaker and striker Benjamin Sesko poised to leave this summer in the wake of the club’s failure to qualify for European football for the first time since the 2016/17 season.”
Liverpool are still keeping an eye on Xavi Simons in the event Florian Wirtz does not join the Reds
According to TBR Football‘s correspondent Graeme Bailey, Liverpool may use Jurgen Klopp’s knowledge of Simons to gain a better understanding of his suitability to Arne Slot’s side.
The German Liverpool legend is now Red Bull’s global head of football operations and will have insights and access to Simons that could help his former club zero in on their opinion of Xavi.
Bailey reports: “In the background, Liverpool did do a lot of checks on [Jeremie] Frimpong over the last few months, and interestingly, they’ve done similar investigations on Xavi Simons.
“I keep coming back to Simons; they like him an awful lot, and they’ve done the work on him, obviously speaking to Ryan Gravenberch.
“I’ve been told not to rule out the prospect that Liverpool’s hierarchy will have spoken to Jurgen Klopp about Simons, which I think is interesting.”
Xavi Simons is the perfect alternative to Florian Wirtz
No disrespect to Simons, Liverpool would be a much better side if they signed Wirtz instead but the 22-year-old Leipzig playmaker is by no means a poor signing if he does end up being Slot’s No.10.
The summer transfer window is yet to even open and yet it seems that the Reds are already in a strong position transfer-wise.
