Xavi Simons transfer hijack plotted as Chelsea handed huge £68m twist

Chelsea will be eager to wrap up their proposed deal for Xavi Simons - as quickly as possible - following the latest transfer developments in the Premier League.

While Stamford Bridge remains his preferred destination,the Blues have been in talks with RB Leipzig for a number of weeks - and are also pursuing Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho at the same time.While discussions have been ongoing, Simons has continued featuring for Leipzig.

He played the full 90 minutes of their DFB Pokal round 1 fixture against Sandhausen with a goal and assist to his name. This competitive appearance came following his involvement in their pre-season friendly reverse, to Lens, after reporting to training for the weeks before that.

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The German club's Bundesliga campaign kicks-off on Friday evening when they face reigning champions Bayern Munich and the current plan is for him to feature with that likely as his final match - as per Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg.

Leipzig's opponents attempted to hijack the deal earlier this month, but failed to do so as Simons wants to join Chelsea. The Bavarian giants have since been linked to Christopher Nkunku, but a return to Leipzig for the France international is also a possibility.

As long as Simons arrives and Nkunku departs permanently, it is more than likely Chelsea won't care where he goes, but fears of the former not happening might have heightened by what just happened with Eberechi Eze.

Tottenham were in pole position to sign him - and a full agreement with Crystal Palace was close. As it was not finalised, Arsenal swooped in and offered payment terms, expected to hit his £68million release clause, with Eze left to make an easy decision considering the fact he supports the club.

With Spurs now actively after a new No.10, it would not be too surprising if a swoop for Simons was made, and exactly that scenario looks to have played out. According to Fabrizio Romano, Spurs made contact with Simons, but his heart is still set on a move to Chelsea.

As this transfer window has proven, absolutely anything could still happen and so Chelsea bringing in Garnacho - but struggling to offload Nicolas Jackson and Nkunku - could directly impact Simons.

However, the timeline for his (planned) arrival looks to be in place, with it likely the deal advances this weekend especially as both Chelsea and Leipzig play on Friday night.

Exactly how much he will cost has been unclear since talks began, but the expectation is he will cost somewhere around the region of £60million, which is not a bad price at all in this current market.