Chelsea fans are convinced Xavi Simons could soon be on his way after the winger replied to the club’s Instagram post announcing Jorrel Hato’s transfer move from Ajax to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues officially announced their eighth signing of the summer transfer window as Hato put pen to paper on a seven-year contract in a deal worth £37million on Sunday evening.
The Netherlands defender, who is comfortable operating both at left-back and centre-half, follows Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Mamadou Sarr, Dario Essugo, Estevao and Kendry Paez through the doors in west London.
Premier League rivals Arsenal and Liverpool had both expressed a strong interest in Hato in recent weeks, but Chelsea were quick to agree personal terms with the 19-year-old Dutchman before successfully striking a deal with Ajax.
‘I’m very excited, I’m so happy to be here,’ Hato told Chelsea’s official website having committed his future to the Club World Cup champions until 2032.
‘I thought a lot about my future and wanted to take the next step in my career.
‘Chelsea is the best place for me to do that so I’m very happy.’
Hato suggested he was leaving his boyhood team to join one of the ‘biggest clubs’ in world football.
‘For sure it was a big decision,’ the versatile full-back added.
‘I played seven years at Ajax and for me it was home – the people, the players, the coaches, the culture.
‘So it was not easy to leave, but my feeling was that at this moment I needed to make a step to the biggest club in the biggest competitions.’
Hato was flooded with countless good luck messages from fans and players alike as he celebrated his switch to Chelsea on his many social media profiles.
While Ajax’s official Instagram page demanded Chelsea ‘take good care’ of Hato, the likes of Joshua Zirkzee, Jurrien Timber and Ian Maatsen joined in passing on their best wishes to their fellow countryman.
However, it was a reply from RB Leipzig star Simons – which simply read ‘Miboy. [love heart emoji]’ – that most excited Chelsea supporters, who wasted little time in putting two and two together.
In response to Simons’ message, one Chelsea fan wrote, ‘We’re waiting for you champ’, while others replied, ‘SIGN THE CONTRACT’ and ‘YOU’RE NEXT’.
It comes as Chelsea strive to get a deal over the line with Leipzig for Simons on the back of the attacker’s outstanding 2024/25 campaign, in which he racked up ten goals and seven assists in the Bundesliga.
Talks between Chelsea and Leipzig have been positive and the Europa Conference League winners are optimistic they can get their man before the transfer deadline.
It’s understood Leipzig value Simons at around £60m and reports at the weekend indicated that the German outfit had floated the idea of Chelsea including Tyrique George in a deal.
The former PSV Eindhoven man is tied into a contract with Leipzig until June 2027.
Simons has removed any mention of Leipzig on his social media pages and did not take part in pre-season training with the rest of Ole Werner’s squad last Friday.
Though Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schafer insisted the reason for Simons’ absence was ‘purely medical’, the club have grown increasingly resigned to losing their star man to Chelsea.
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