Arsenal and Chelsea will be able to sign Xavi Simons for a discounted price if they formalise their interest in the wantaway RB Leipzig star.
The Netherlands international has made clear his desire to leave the Bundesliga club this summer.
RB’s position has been rendered weak following their failure to qualify for European football next season.
Simons has just two years left on his contract and with no prospect of a contract extension in the offing, Simons’ departure is looking increasingly certain.
London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea are carefully monitoring Simons’ situation while Bayern Munich are also understood to be in the mix.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
The German champions were stunned after missing out on Florian Wirtz who sealed a British record move to Liverpool having opted to leave Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer.
RB Leipzig were hoping to make a sizable profit on the €50m (£41.8m) they spent to sign the player earlier this year but, according to Fabrizio Romano, the creative midfielder will now be available for under €70m.
Whether that will be a valuation that would tempt Barcelona back into the mix remains to be seen.
On Thursday, Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco, met with Simons’ brother Faustino and the midfielder’s advisor, Ali Barat, at a hotel in the city.
Barca are unlikely to be able to finance a deal if they were required to compete with the Bundesliga giants and have already seen a move for Nico Williams fall through earlier in the window.
In any case, Simons is, according to Bild, minded to join an English side to continue his development having endured something of a nomadic career to this point.
The 22-year-old already has the names of Paris Saint-Germain, where he had two different spells, PSV and Leipzig on his CV.
Arsenal have made just one attacking signing so far this summer with Noni Madueke having completed his move from Chelsea last week.
A move for Viktor Gyokeres is still hanging in the balance while little progress has been made on a reported move for Eberechi Eze.
Real Madrid’s Rodrygo is said to remain on Arsenal’s radar but his wage demands are likely to prove prohibitive.
Chelsea, for their part, have signed two strikers already in Joao Pedro and Liam Delap but are seeking further reinforcements.