Barca's pupil, Xavi's namesake and PSG's outkast is going places with Leipzig

He spent nine years at La Masia and was labelled the next big thing, but never got a proper chance at Camp Nou. That's why he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2019. However, despite lots of praise and plaudits, he got nothing more than bits and pieces at Parc des Princes.

After a fruitful season-long loan at PSV Eindhoven, Xavi Simons continued his journey at RB Leipzig on the same terms, which proved to be probably the best decision in his career so far.

On Sunday, the Dutchman scored and assisted in the club's 3-1 Bundesliga win over Freiburg, becoming the first player in the league to score and assist a goal in four different games this season, according to Opta Stats.

Moreover, 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 Koln (2) and Freiburg this season.

Despite predominantly playing on the right wing and sometimes in the centre, Xavi started on the left against Freiburg and did it marvellously. With 11 goal contributions (four goals and seven assists) in 11 Bundesliga games this season, Simons is averaging a contribution every 79 minutes.

As per FBRef, only Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Aleix Garcia (Girona), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen) and James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur) have more goal-creating actions than Simons (11) this season.