Xavi Simons was handed his Paris Saint-Germain debut in last Wednesday's 1-0 win over Stade Malherbe Caen in the Coupe de France at the tender age of 17 years, nine months and 21 days, but what else is there to know about the Dutch youngster?
Acquired from Barcelona's famed La Masia youth academy at the start of last season, Simons has long been on the radar of Europe's top clubs, with media outlets from Goal to the Guardian predicting greatness for a fair ew seasons now.
It may be far too early to claim that they were right, but the signs are at least promising…
Back story:
Born in Amsterdam in April 2003 but living in Spain since the age of three, Simons is the son of former Dutch Eridivisie striker and coach Regillio Simons, who, as an avid Barcelona fan, named his son after Blaugrana club legend Xavi Hernandez.
At the age of seven, Simons Jr. fulfilled something of a dream - for father and son - when he joined the Barca academy, and he went on to captain the club at various age group levels. PSG promised him a tangible path into the senior professional game, though, and he swapped the Catalonian capital for the French one in July 2019 on a three-year contract.
Style of play:
Perhaps fittingly for a player named after Barcelona's former pass-master Xavi, Simons likes to orchestrate play in midfield, with his low centre of gravity, quick touch and impressive decision-making helping him steer play in the direction of his choosing. Just 17 and with a 6'-tall father, Xavi likely has some filling out to do, but if he can add more steel without losing the obvious silk, PSG stand to benefit enormously.
Current campaign:
Simons has spent much of this season simply playing training games with PSG, with youth football effectively on standby amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. A four-time Youth Ballon d'Or winner with 14 age group caps to his name for the Netherlands, Simon has stayed sharp, though, and looked more than ready when he replaced Julian Draxler for the final 12 minutes against Caen.
Watch they said:
"I prefer to assist than to score. For me, assists are the most important. When I score, I'm happy, but if a teammate scores I'm also happy. So I prefer to assist because it's good for the team."
- Simons explaining his playing style to freestyler Soufiane Touzani in 2017.
"I try not to look on it as a coach. I want to be a dad. I try to watch in a superficial way: that's a goal, that's a good pass, but it's hard. When I look as a coach I think he has a lot of quality and if I listen to what people are saying to me he's got the extra quality that makes him a special talent."
- Simons' father Regillio on watching his son's career so far.