RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons continues to shine in the Bundesliga. On Sunday the Dutchman scored and assisted in the club’s 3-1 win over Freiburg, becoming the first player in the league to score and assist a goal in four different Bundesliga games this season, according to Opta.
Not only that, no player in Europe’s top five leagues has more assists than Simons (7) this season. With a market value of €70m, according to Transfermarkt, Simons has assists against Stuttgart (2), Union Berlin, Augsburg, FC Köln (2) and Freiburg this season. He’s also two away from equalling his best league tally (9), which Simons picked up at PSV last season.
RB Leipzig’s signing of Simons was a masterstroke by the club’s recruitment team. Although Simons has predominantly played on the right-wing, the player has also started centrally and against Freiburg on Sunday, started on the left for the first time in the Bundesliga this season. With 11 goal contributions (four goals and seven assists) in 11 Bundesliga games this season, Simons is averaging a contribution every 79 minutes.
Simons was signed to replace a percentage of Christopher Nkunku’s output at Leipzig last season and while on his way to doing so, is fast becoming a fan favourite in Leipzig. According to FBRef, only Nico Williams (Athletic Club), Aleix Garcia (Girona), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen) and James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur) have more Goal-Creating Actions than Simons (11) this season.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
