Man Utd 'open talks' to sign £60m Chelsea and Arsenal target 'who has everything'

Manchester United were back in action on Saturday afternoon as they drew 0-0 with Premier League rivals Leeds United in a pre-season friendly in Sweden.

New signing Matheus Cunha got his first run out while United will hope to have Bryan Mbeumo on board in time for their tour of the United States, when they will take on Premier League rivals West Ham United, Bournemouth and Everton.

An agreement was finally reached with Brentford to sign Mbeumo after weeks of talks and two rejected offers. Ruben Amorim is keen to further strengthen his squad but the Red Devils will need to sanction some exits in order to get more deals done.

They have agreed to pay the fees in instalments for both Cunha and Mbeumo which should give them a little more wiggle room in the transfer market. There are a number of areas the club still needs to strengthen.

Man Utd open talks with Xavi Simons - but so do Chelsea

According to journalist Sebastian Vidal of Weekend Sports, both United and Chelsea have opened talks with the camp of RB Leipzig ace Xavi Simons. He said on X: “Chelsea and Manchester United have opened talks with Xavi Simons’ camp.

“Barcelona are also interested, but the €70M (£60m) price tag is seen as unaffordable for them. One of the hottest attacking prospects on the market this summer.”

Giving an update on the player, Fabrizio Romano said before the reports of United opening talks: “Chelsea and Arsenal among clubs attentive to Xavi Simons situation this summer. He’s prepared to leave Leipzig as revealed since May and Premier League top clubs are informed. No bids or talks yet.”

United look set to offload Marcus Rashford with a verbal agreement on a loan deal to Barcelona. Alejandro Garnacho is also looking to leave, which means Ruben Amorim needs a new left winger.

Simons can play at attacking midfield and at left wing, and could offer some versatility to the United boss. He scored 11 goals and provided eight assists in 33 games in all competitions last season.

Xavi Simons hailed as a star with huge potential

Bayern Munich were interested in Simons last summer, and sporting director at the Allianz Arena, Christoph Freund, was public in his admiration for the player.

He said: "He is a very good player. He had a very good European Championship and a great season with Leipzig.

“He's developed really well. I think he's going to have a really good career at the highest level. He has everything, mentality, character and is just an exceptional player.”

The 22-year-old signed for RB Leipzig in January 2025 after 18 months on loan at the club. The Bundesliga side broke their transfer record to sign the Dutch international on a deal until the summer of 2027.

He wants to leave the club after they failed to qualify for the Champions League. While that could present an issue to United, they have shown their ability to still attract top players with deals for Cunha and Mbeumo.