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RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons is reportedly closing in on a move to the Premier League amid interest from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

This summer, Simons, 22, had been constantly linked with a move away from Leipzig.

Earlier in the transfer window, it was reported that Premier League giants Chelsea had agreed terms with the Dutchman but had so far failed to offer a sum that suits Leipzig.

During the 24/25 season, Simons made a total of 33 appearances for Leipzig, scoring 11 goals and assisting a further eight.

On Friday morning, it was claimed that Chelsea's London rivals, Spurs, had agreed a fee with the Bundesliga side, believed to be €60 million.

Fabrizio Romano said: "EXCLUSIVE: Tottenham agree €60m fee with RB Leipzig for Xavi Simons! Official bid accepted, green light after #THFC sent formal bid following player’s encouragement.

"Spurs want deal done today also on player side + medical in the next hours. Here we go, expected soon."

And now, Spurs look to have fully hijacked Chelsea's move with a medical said to have been completed.

Xavi Simons 'completes medical' ahead of Premier League move

Taking to social media, The Athletic's David Ornstein wrote: "Xavi Simons has completed medical before moving to Tottenham Hotspur from RB Leipzig. €60m deal agreed club-to-club + personal terms done for 22yo attacker to join #THFC pending final details being sorted between Dutch int'l and RB Leipzig."

Spurs have been on the lookout for an attacking midfielder after James Maddison suffered a serious knee injury during the club's pre-season tour in Asia.

Earlier in the month, Spurs were beaten in the race to sign Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, who opted to join North London rivals Arsenal.

However, Thomas Frank's search for a new attacker looks to be coming to an end with Simons now inches away from being confirmed as a new Spurs player.

Spurs have had a perfect start to the 25/26 Premier League season and Frank's men will be back in action this weekend when they take on Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

Arsenal fans are adamant that the club aimed at dig at Spurs after beating them to the signing of Eberechi Eze.

The England international appeared to be heading to North London rivals Spurs from Crystal Palace after they reportedly agreed a deal, only for Arsenal to steal a march and secure Eze's services for a fee of £67.5 million.

A boyhood Arsenal supporter who was previously in their academy, Eze took the No.10 shirt and was unveiled prior to the 5-0 win over Leeds United in the Emirates.

Arsenal's announcement video featured Ian Wright as Eze's moved mirrored him joining the Gunners from Palace at the age of 27.

But fans also spotted that amongst all the Eze content uploaded on official channels, there was an interesting pose from the former QPR attacker.

Eze did a folding arms pose from a specific angle that was reminiscent of one Sol Campbell did after completing his highly controversial free transfer from Spurs to Arsenal back in 2001 after racking up 315 appearances across nine years.

Arsenal supporters think the club knew exactly what they were doing with the picture.

One on X observed: "I'm sure our photographers did it on purpose. Apart from Sol, I don't remember anyone taking a photo like that when signing, from that angle .

A second remarked: "No such thing as a coincidence."

A third commented: "Arsenal are dirty for doing this."

Eze has been 'on trial' at Arsenal for four years

Though he had been set to join Spurs, Eze simply had to choose Arsenal when he heard of their interest.

Having been released at the age of 13, Eze has a second opportunity at Arsenal - who has been holding out to return even when at Palace.

“I remember the day I got released, my mum said a prayer that this reverse would happen. For me, this is a realisation of a dream that we prayed for,” Eze said.

“I thought about coming back from the moment I understood what it meant to become a pro. I’ve always thought: ‘Arsenal is where it’s at, that’s what I want to achieve, what I want to get to.’

“I’ve been on trial for four years, if I’m being honest. Every time I came to Arsenal, I looked at the seat that I used to sit on when I used to come to games with my brothers, and I’ve said every single time: ‘This is it - it’s time, this is an opportunity.’ I’m not going to say I knew it was going to happen, but that’s the feeling.”

With Bukayo Saka out injured, Eze could make his debut for Arsenal against Premier League champions Liverpool in a huge top of the table clash at Anfield on Sunday,

Xavi Simons has a 'preference' when it comes to his next transfer, according to reports, as Tottenham and Chelsea continue to be linked with a move for the attacking midfielder.

Tottenham's priority in the final days of the window is signing a No. 10 after missing out on Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze, and it appears Simons has been identified as a suitable target.

In fact, the club are preparing to hijack Chelsea's deal for Simons, according to Sky reporter Florian Plettenberg.

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Chelsea, meanwhile, are said to have reached an agreement on personal terms with the 22-year-old attacking midfielder and are 'very much in the race' to sign him from RB Leipzig, who are now waiting for official offers.

Leipzig want at least €65 million (£56m) for Simons, as per Ben Jacobs.

Simons, who is currently in London to finalise a move, has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge for much of the summer window.

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And amid rumours of Spurs' interest, Kieran Gill of the Mail claims Simons’ preference remains Chelsea after their London rivals were invited to consider their own swoop.

The Netherlands international, who joined Leipzig from Paris Saint-Germain in January following an 18-month loan spell at the Red Bull Arena, has informed the German club of his desire to leave after they missed out on Champions League football.

Simons has been persistently linked with a Premier League transfer in recent transfer windows, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United all being credited with an interest.

Back in April, Simons opened up on his future amid interest from the Premier League.

“I’m still a young player, I have many dreams – and the club knows that,” he told Sky Germany. “But right now, the most important thing for me is to play well in the upcoming games. Then we have the international matches, and after that we’ll sit down and see what happens.”

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Pep Guardiola could be presented with the need to make a quick decision on the future of one of Manchester City's summer signings.

Man City stole in ahead of Newcastle United to bring England Under-21 international goalkeeper James Trafford back to the club from Burnley but his senior home debut for the club didn't go to plan.

The 22-year-old kept a clean sheet in City's 4-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers but was at fault for Joao Palhinha's goal in a 2-0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Guardiola's goalkeeper position is up for grabs. Ederson is expected to leave the club, with Istanbul giants Galatasaray the likeliest destination for the 32-year-old.

City's reported interest in Paris Saint-Germain stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma is ongoing and there are reports this week that Trafford could yet be heading for Istanbul himself.

Politikam via Sport Witness reports that former Manchester United player and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants Trafford as his number one at Besiktas and could get his wish.

"It’s claimed contact has been made for the youngster and that his agent is said to have travelled to Istanbul to commence transfer talks with Besiktas president Serdal Adali," writes Sport Witness.

"The Black Eagles have been busy this summer with the Norwegian coach strengthening his midfield and attack, but now he wants to make the goalkeeper position one of his priorities.

"The Super Lig side are reportedly looking to loan Trafford, although there is no indication a purchase option is being negotiated."

Trafford first joined Man City from Carlisle United ten years ago and spent time on loan with Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers before Burnley parted with £15 million plus add-ons to sign him permanently.

Trafford starred for England as they retained the Under-21 European Championship title this summer and was apparently on the cusp of a move to Newcastle before City offered a surprise return.

Burnley conceded just 16 goals in 46 Championship games on their way to automatic promotion under Scott Parker last season. Both the Clarets and Leeds United reached the Premier League by racking up exactly 100 points in 2024-25.

City agreed a £27 million deal to sign the young goalkeeper, who signed a five-year deal in July.

Arsenal are set to hijack a second Tottenham transfer following the signing of Eberechi Eze as David Ornstein has dropped a major update.

Arsenal have splashed the cash this summer, having snapped up the likes of Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi.

Gyokeres, who issued a message to his critics after his brace against Leeds United last weekend, cost the Gunners £64 million while they shelled out £60 million to acquire Zubimendi.

And the club are working on further reinforcements ahead of next month's transfer deadline, having unveiled Eze against Leeds.

According to Ornstein, Arsenal are 'working on a deal' to sign Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen.

The deal, however, is subject to player exits as they look to balance their books, having signed seven new players this summer.

Hincapie, who can play as a centre-back or a left-back, is under contract at Leverkusen until 2029, but has informed the club of his desire to leave this summer.

The 23-year-old has a release clause of €60 million (£52 million), although, per the report, efforts are being made to lower that fee to a more realistic market value.

Hincapie's preference is to join Arsenal, who are ready to push for him should departures at the Emirates materialise.

Ornstein's report comes just hours after Fabrizio Romano claimed Spurs had made an approach for the Ecuadorian.

They proposed a loan deal with an obligation to trigger his release clause next summer and started discussing personal teams.

But it appears Arsenal are set to pip their cross-city rivals to the signing of Hincapie - just like they did with Eze.

If Arsenal can get the deal over the line, Hincapie, who has featured prominently on the club's recruitment lists for some time, would be the second defender to arrive this summer following the transfer of Cristhian Mosquera, who joined from Valencia for £17 million.

Who could Arsenal sell this summer?

As mentioned, Arsenal have signed seven new players this summer.

An eighth signing could be on the way if the club can successfully offload players ahead of the September 1 deadline.

Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson are among the players who could be let go.

Porto are pursuing a move for Kiwior, while Fulham are interested in signing Nelson after he enjoyed a loan spell at Craven Cottage last season.

Jamie O'Hara has hit out at Arsenal after the Premier League side unveiled new signing Eberechi Eze ahead of their match against Leeds United.

Shortly before Arsenal produced a dominant win over newly-promoted side Leeds United at the Emirates, Gunners fans were treated to the official unveiling of new signing Eberechi Eze.

Despite reportedly agreeing with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, the Crystal Palace decided instead to sign for boyhood club Arsenal in what is viewed as a major statement signing for Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal will pay an initial fee of £60million for the the 27-year-old, with a further £7.5m potentially being added on if certain bonuses are met.

As he walked out onto the Emirates pitch for the first time as an Arsenal player, fans in the stadium made their feelings about the new signing clear, but former Tottenham player O'Hara wasn't happy with the unveiling.

Although Eze's debut likely to come during next week's title clash with Liverpool, his unveiling at the Emirates showed him that fans are seriously excited to have him at the club.

Shortly before his unveiling at the Emirates, Arsenal announced the signing with a video featuring Eze and club legend Ian Wright on social media.

But it appears that O'Hara was not impressed with the video, as he criticised it while watching it live on talkSPORT, saying: “What have I just watched there? Seriously, what am I watching? It’s embarrassing, mate, Wrighty should know better as well."

To which co-host Jason Cundy replied: "No one does cringe like Arsenal. It's the way, it's the modern world. Social media now, it's where it all goes off.

"By the way, what a signing, don't be getting bitter!"

Prompting O'Hara to state: "He’s a good player. He ain’t Messi. Do you know what I mean? Come on, he’s a decent player. They’re bigging him up like they’ve signed Erling Haaland.”

With Crystal Palace set to receive a reported £67.5m for their star player, Eze's move to the Gunners takes Arsenal's total spending this summer to around £250million.

Viktor Gyokeres, who scored two at the Emirates on Saturday, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi are just some of the other players who have joined Arsenal in recent weeks.

Djed Spence has fired a brutal dig at a Manchester City player after Tottenham's 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad Stadium.

Spurs star Spence was part of the defence that kept their second consecutive clean sheet this season after last weekend's 3-0 victory over Burnley.

Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha both got on the scoresheet for Thomas Frank's side in Manchester.

Palhinha capitalised on an error from City's new £27 million goalkeeper James Trafford, who was preferred to Ederson in the starting XI.

The hosts had relatively few clear-cut chances throughout the 90 minutes, though Guglielmo Vicario pulled off a good save to deny Omar Marmoush with the scores at 0-0.

It is two wins out of two for Spurs, with City failing to build on their 4-0 thrashing of Wolves last weekend.

Spence, who is a natural right-back but was moved to the opposite flank by Ange Postecoglou last season after an injury to Destiny Udogie, again lined up at left-back at the Etihad Stadium amid Udogie's latest absence.

Taking to Instagram, he posted a series of photos from the game alongside the caption: "Bring me your favourite winger #GODSPEED."

Spence was up against Oscar Bobb, and City right-back Rico Lewis, during the game, with neither attacking player having any significant impact on proceedings at the Etihad Stadium.

Thomas Frank on Spurs win over Man City

Speaking after the game, Spurs boss Frank praised his side's performance: "It was a real team performance. So happy with the performance and the win.

"The goal changed a bit of momentum, and since the goal I think we were on top for more or less the rest of the game.

"The second half, exceptional. The way we came out, still wanting to play, still wanting to open up, high pressure, really aggressive. That, I'm really proud of.

"Then, of course, the clean sheet mentality. The clean sheet is really important, because it's then easier to win football matches. Big credit to the staff and the players - the high pressure, middle pressure, lower block, defending the box... so important. Last year was six clean sheets, and we need to keep going."

Phil Foden could be seen laughing on the Manchester City bench, just moments after Spurs made it 2-0 – and fans think they've worked out why.

It was a first half to forget for Pep Guardiola and his side on Saturday afternoon as goals from Brennan Johnson and summer signing Joao Palhinha gave the visitors a deserved lead at the Etihad.

James Trafford, who became Manchester City's sixth signing of the summer after completing a £27 million move from Burnley, was preferred to last season's first-choice Ederson.

But the 22-year-old goalkeeper made a glaring error, just moments before Palhinha doubled Tottenham's lead with moments remaining of the first half.

Cameras soon ventured over to the City bench as Jeremy Doku, Abdukodir Khusanov and Matheus Nunes looked on stone-faced, but to the surprise of many, Phil Foden burst out laughing.

Some fans on social media believe Foden was reacting to Spurs' away support, who could be heard singing: "Champions of Europe, we know what we are" as they took a surprise 2-0 lead.

One said: "Foden just laughing at them for singing 'Champions of Europe'", while another commented: "Foden laughing off the Spurs fans chant 'CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE!!!'"

A third wrote: "So why is Foden laughing at the Champions of Europe chant? Are we wrong?"

A fourth said: "Phil Foden is laughing at the "Champions of Europe" chant," and a fifth added: "Phil Foden couldn’t believe his ears when he heard Spurs fans singing 'Champions of Europe we know who we are.'"

Foden struggled for large parts of last season, but Pep Guardiola is optimistic the midfielder will be back to his best in the coming months.

“Phil is a top-class, extraordinary player," he said ahead of Saturday's clash against Spurs. "The last Premier League we won, he was massively important. He was the best player in the Premier League.

“Always I try to convince him he can be better, can read the situations better. But I never would doubt the quality of Phil and I only want his joy to be playing again and be happy. Phil is something unique.

“(Last season) was the first season after six or seven (seasons) when everything dropped a little bit. If he learned the lesson that would be great."

Guardiola added: “There are always seasons that you cannot be like you were, but Phil has been incredibly consistent and incredible in these many years, and this is what we are looking for (again).”

Tottenham have reportedly found their replacement for Arsenal-bound forward Eberechi Eze but the deal could hinge on the approval of a Gunners legend.

Spurs looked set to sign the England and Crystal Palace star after he inspired the Eagles to victory in the FA Cup final against Manchester City in May.

Eze has also impressed on the international stage, having won 12 caps and scored one goal for the Three Lions since his debut in June 2023.

However, just as the deal appeared to be edging over the line, Spurs’ North London rivals hijacked it - luring Eze to the Emirates and leaving Thomas Frank’s transfer strategy in tatters.

To make matters worse, this is not the first time that Spurs have had their transfer plans scuppered this summer.

The 2025 UEFA Europa League winners were close to signing Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White until his club convinced him to sign a new deal instead.

The Times has now reported that Spurs have turned their attention to a new target in the form of Como attacking midfielder Nico Paz.

The 20-year-old Argentina international is one of the most exciting young talents in Serie A after scoring six goals and producing nine assists in 35 league appearances last term.

But Spurs may face another hurdle in their bid to get their man, though, with Como managed by one of the greatest Arsenal midfielders of all time, Cesc Fabregas.

As a result, the Spaniard would surely have a say in any deal for the former Real Madrid star, who Toni Kroos has described as an 'exceptional' talent.

Fabregas enjoyed a superb spell with the Gunners between 2003 and 2011 before leaving to join boyhood club Barcelona.

Tottenham desperately need to sign an attacking midfielder after James Maddison was ruled out of the majority of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Spurs replaced Europa League-winning coach Ange Postecoglou with former Brentford boss Frank at the start of the summer.

His squad will have to compete on several fronts, including in the UEFA Champions League and Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a massive blow as another of their top transfer targets has turned them down after missing out on Eberechi Eze.

Following weeks of reports linking Crystal Palace star Eze with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, a shocking report on Wednesday night revealed that he had instead completed a move to London rivals Arsenal.

The England international had reportedly agreed terms with Spurs and was set to join later this week until a late bid from the Gunners turned his head, leading to him agreeing to sign a deal after Palace's Conference League clash with Fredrikstad on Thursday.

Since then, Spurs have been left scrambling in the transfer market as they look to bring in a new statement signing before the window closes of September 1.

But a new report has revealed that they have been dealt yet another blow in the transfer market, as their next top target has publicly confirmed that he will not join Spurs this summer.

After James Maddison suffered a devastating injury in pre-season that will likely rule him out of the entire 2025/26 season, Spurs immediately began looking for a new number 10 in the transfer window.

Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White was their first choice, but the Englishman decided instead to pen a new deal with his current club, leading Spurs to their failed pursuit of Eze.

After missing out on the Crystal Palace forward, the Lilywhite have turned their attention to several other options, including Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, who recently took home the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

But now, Rogers appears to have shut down any rumours that he could leave the midlands club this summer in an interview with The Times.

When asked about Villa's attitude that he is not for sale this summer, he said: “I’m happy here. I love football. I love nothing more than just coming out on the pitch and playing football and that’s what I’m doing.

"I don’t think about anything else. I can’t predict the next 12 months or anything in the future. It’s just about playing football, enjoying my football and showing everyone what I can do.”