Xavi Simons has reportedly travelled to London for transfer talks that would see him leave RB Leipzig for a fee of up to £60million.
Simons, 22, had been targeted by Chelsea earlier on in the window only for their London rivals Tottenham now leapfrogging them in the race to sign him.
According to BILD, training at Leipzig had already taken place without him ahead of their game against Heidenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Simons is said to have been ‘released until further notice for future discussions,’ according to the publication after they contacted club officials.
Tottenham have not yet submitted an official offer, but have held introductory talks with Leipzig over a potential move.
Dutch international Simons has two years remaining on his current contract.
Simons, 22, had been targeted by Chelsea earlier on in the window only for their London rivals Tottenham now leapfrogging them in the race to sign him
Simons is said to have been ‘released until further notice for future discussions,’ according to the publication after they contacted club officials
Simons is allegedly seeking an exit from the club, with the Lilywhites in need of a creative midfielder following long-term injuries to James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski.
That comes after Spurs lost out to Arsenal on the signing of Eberechi Eze – who left Crystal Palace to join their north London rivals.
Thomas Frank’s side had already lost out on Morgan Gibbs-White, who opted to stay at Nottingham Forest instead of joining Spurs.
Simons fits the profile Spurs like. He is young with scope to develop. His high-energy style is a good fit for Frank.
He dazzled in the youth ranks at Barcelona before moving to Paris Saint-Germain at 16 and left for a year with at PSV before the French giants exercised a buy-back clause.
Leipzig signed him in January after spending 18 months there on loan.
Tottenham however have other options in play, including Savinho of Manchester City, Nico Paz of Como in Italy and Maghnes Akliouche, who has received his first call-up to the senior France squad after a strong start to the new season with Monaco.
The fact that Tottenham are involved in the Champions League this season is also thought to be appealing for Simons.
Chelsea have already strengthened heavily in attacking areas during the transfer window, with strikers Joao Pedro and Liam Delap joining for £60m and £30m respectively.
