Tottenham are set to sign Xavi Simons from Red Bull Leipzig for a fee in the region of €60 million (£70m), sources have told ESPN.
The 22-year-old was in London on Thursday to finalise a move having been given permission to travel by Leipzig.
Sources have told ESPN that Chelsea have held an interest all summer but have opted not to rival Spurs with a formal offer, instead focusing their efforts on completing the £40m ($53m) signing of Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United.
Simons has agreed personal terms and could be formally announced as a Tottenham player as early as Friday. It remains to be seen whether he is registered in time to be eligible to feature against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
Although Chelsea opted not to make an official offer, the deal for Simons is a significant coup for Spurs given they have missed out on other key targets in the attacking midfield position.
Morgan Gibbs-White opted to sign a new contract with Nottingham Forest while Eberechi Eze chose to leave Crystal Palace for Arsenal when a deal had also been agreed with Spurs.
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Simons bolsters a position weakened by James Maddison’s serious knee injury — he underwent anterior cruciate ligament surgery earlier this month — and will help manager Thomas Frank build on his promising start to life at the club, having masterminded an impressive 2-0 win at Manchester City last weekend.
Meanwhile, could look to move for Barcelona’s Fermín López although they need to comply with the terms of a UEFA punishment which dictates they must record a positive transfer balance in relation to last season’s Conference League squad to register new signings for this year’s Champions League campaign.
Christopher Nkunku’s imminent €42m move to AC Milan will help in that regard. Sources told ESPN the future of Nicolas Jackson remains unclear amid interest from Newcastle, Aston Villa and Juventus but a resolution is expected before Monday’s transfer deadline.
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