As good as Jude Bellingham & Jamal Musiala? How lessons from Lionel Messi & Neymar made PSG-owned Xavi Simons a Golden Boy

Simons is still just 20 years of age, but he has been operating under the brightest of spotlights since first catching the eye in Barcelona’s academy system. Living up to big expectations was always going to be difficult, but the classy playmaker starred during a loan spell at PSV last season – hitting 22 goals – and finds himself back on the books of Paris Saint-Germain following a 12-month soiree in his native Netherlands.

Simons is seeing his stock soar once more, as full potential is unlocked, with former PSV star Zenden – speaking in association with TG Casino – telling GOAL of how good the exciting youngster can become: “He came relatively unknown to PSV. What I mean by that is that everybody knew about him - he played for Holland U18s, played at the Barca academy and at Paris Saint-Germain - but he didn’t feature much in first-team football and that is what I mean about him being relatively unknown. When he came to PSV, we maybe didn’t know what to expect from him and he still had to prove himself at first level football."

Zenden went on to say of Simons’ impact in Eindhoven, with it clear that the youngster had benefited from working alongside some modern day greats in Paris: “As soon as he came in, he was very positive, he had a good attitude, he was working hard and you could see that he had been at these bigger teams and he didn’t have his eyes in his pockets – he really learned from the big players like [Kylian] Mbappe, Messi, Neymar.

"He had a really good professionalism about him. He knew exactly what he wanted, where he wanted to go, and he became sort of a leader on the pitch for the squad. He was definitely one of the favourites with the fans with his way of playing, scoring goals and being important with assists. But it was also his joy of playing football. He was, don’t get me wrong on this, like a puppy being around and just being happy in what he was doing – it was a joy to watch. You hope that he is never going to lose that aura that he has got.”

PSV were understandably keen to retain Simons’ services after handing him a long-term contract, but a €6 million (£5m/$6m) release clause left them vulnerable – especially as Simons’ profile was eclipsing their own. Zenden added: “He has a massive following on Instagram – I think there was talk that he had more followers than PSV itself! He is a really popular figure. We wanted him to stay at PSV, but there was this clause in his contract and we knew it was never going to happen. At the same time, you have to be realistic and say it is due to the clause that it was possible for PSV to get him in.

"Then, he has gone to Leipzig and is doing the same again. He scored a great goal in midweek in the Champions League to help his team and is doing well in the Bundesliga as well. It’s great to see that a youngster like that is performing the way he does. There was talk in the Netherlands that the national team should build the team around him, but Koeman said that was probably a little bit too soon, too early to do so. But it says it all that he is doing a great job and it is a pleasure to watch. We hope we can enjoy him even more.”

Golden Boy contenders such as England ace Bellingham – who has been starring at Real Madrid – Bayern Munich prodigy Musiala and Barcelona sensation Gavi are considered to form part of the next generation of footballing greats. Asked if Simons is as good as the other future superstars occupying that talent pool, Zenden said: “I think so. It’s always difficult to compare players because they play in different positions, different competitions, but they make a name for themselves.

"For example with Bellingham, what he has done at Madrid – to be able to score these goals, to be an important player. I always say that when a player moves from one team to the other, it is always difficult because you have to adapt to a new style of playing, a new manager and team-mates, but also changing countries, playing abroad, learning a new language, culture, a different kind of mentality. A player needs probably a year to adapt. Imagine if Bellingham or Xavi, or whoever, is really getting to his maximum potential when they do get adapted to the new surroundings – we can expect even more from them.”

Simons has been loaned out to German giants RB Leipzig for the 2023-24 campaign, with five goals already registered for them through 15 appearances in all competitions. He is up to nine senior caps for the Netherlands, having been the youngest member of their 2022 World Cup squad, and is tied to a contract at Ligue 1 giants PSG through to the summer of 2027.