Much of the transfer rumor mill speculation surrounding Manchester United has understandably focused on their need for goals, and top-class No. 9’s like Victor Osimhen and Benjamin Sesko are the most frequently mentioned players.
But given Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League table, they clearly need more than just striker help if they want to get back to their usual standing as a top-four side in English football.
According to a report from Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Manchester United still want to sign Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig this summer and are actually hoping to sign a “versatile attacking midfielder” in the coming window.
Plettenberg confirms that Manchester United also remain interested in the top two young Bundesliga strikers on the transfer market, Xavi’s Leipzig teammate Sesko and Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike.
Xavi Simons is worth more than Dani Olmo
Any of those three players would be strong additions to Man United, but you could actually argue that Simons is the best of them, given he was a legitimate Bundesliga Player of the Season candidate in his breakout 2024/25 campaign.
Per Plettenberg, Xavi will cost a pretty penny at 80 million euros since he’s so valuable all-around to Leipzig and the Bundesliga top-four side are under no pressure to sell the Dutch international.
But since Leipzig sold Dani Olmo to Barcelona last summer for around 60 million euros, it makes sense that younger, better, and much more versatile Xavi would cost significantly more than Olmo did.
Manchester United already have a world-class attacking midfielder in Bruno Fernandes, who is both their captain and best player. The young Alejandro Garnacho is a serious talent and is also a capable No. 10.
But Xavi is an 8 or a 10 who is better at progressing the ball and defending than either of those two players. Really, he’s a replacement for Mason Mount and the actual kind of player Manchester United probably had in mind when they overpaid to sign Mount from Chelsea.
After overcoming some initial injury woes, the 21-year-old Xavi is putting together another strong season in Germany for Leipzig with 12 goal contributions, 2.3 key passes per game, 3.6 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per contest, and 1.5 tackles and interceptions per match.
Manchester United have learned the hard way that if you want to be a top team in the Premier League these days, you have to spend a premium on young, premium talent instead of mucking around with still paying 50 million euros for only so-so players.
Joe Soriano covers West Ham for Green Street Hammers and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.