Chelsea appear to be edging closer to securing the services of Dutch playmaker Xavi Simons, with advanced discussions underway between the Blues and German outfit RB Leipzig, as reported by Fabrizio Romano.

The Blues are making big progress towards winning the race for Simons, despite a clue suggesting the contrary from RB Leipzig's latest pre-season test on Saturday

Chelsea are progressing well on a deal for Simons, with Leipzig thought to want around €65m for the 22-year-old, and Romano has provided an update. He took to X.com and said: “Understand Chelsea and RB Leipzig are now in advanced talks for Xavi Simons.

RB Leipzig are thought to be demanding a final fee of at least €70 million (£60.8 million, $82.1 million)—which would take Chelsea’s total outlay this summer to north of €300 million (£260.4 million, $351.9 million), comparable to the record-breaking figures bandied around by Liverpool.

Some big news coming in this afternoon is suggesting that Chelsea have now agreed personal terms with RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons. This has been a big story all week and the rumours have turned into solid news and now that solid news looks like it could soon turn into a done deal!

Chelsea are set to make an opening bid to sign RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons, talkSPORT understands. Simons is close to agreeing personal terms, but is also talking to other clubs with Bayern Munich

In fact, Chelsea representatives travelled to Italy in recent days and they submitted a concrete bid worth between €65-68m, as per a bombshell report from Gazzetta dello Sport. However, this offer was swiftly turned down by Juventus as the Serie A giants have no intention of selling Yildiz this summer.