While they’ve spent more in windows past, this summer was another hectic one for Chelsea.

The Blues were able to generate a massive £288m in sales, which enabled them to sign a host of incredibly exciting players and still make a £3m profit.

The most promising addition so far has been Joao Pedro, but the likes of Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap and Jorrel Hato could all look like sensational pickups in a few years from now.

However, while there is plenty to be happy about, some fans were left disappointed by the club’s decision not to sign Xavi Simons, who then moved to Tottenham Hotspur.

Yet, with the Dutchman being compared to a former Chelsea signing who left having not lived up to expectations, maybe missing out on him isn’t the worst thing.

The Simons saga

Simons has been looked at as one of the most exciting young talents in European football for years now.

Stories of his brilliance in La Masia were doing the rounds as far back as 2017, when he was still just 14 years old, and while he never made it at Barcelona, the last few years have shown why so many were so excited about him.

The 22-year-old has racked up a tally of 33 goal involvements in 48 games for PSV Eindhoven and 46 in 78 games for RB Leipzig.

In short, it’s easy to see why Chelsea were so interested in the youngster for so long this summer, and reportedly had even reached an agreement on personal terms with him.

However, towards the end of the window, the West Londoners finally secured the services of Alejandro Garnacho and reneged on their interest in the player.

This vacuum then allowed Spurs to swoop in and sign the Amsterdam-born gem on a seven-year deal, and while this left some Chelsea fans upset, perhaps they shouldn’t be, as one of their former players who was sold for a sizable loss is now being compared to Simons.

The Chelsea dud compared to Simons

The side effect of Chelsea’s tendency to sign so many promising young players is that, over the years, they’ve had more than their fair share fail to live up to expectations.

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Unfortunately, that is what happened with Christian Pulisic, as while he most certainly enjoyed spells of brilliance here and there, he “just didn’t live up to the hype,” per journalist Luke Edwards.

The American international was signed by the Blues for a whopping £58m in January 2019, while Marizzio Sarri was still in charge, and joined up with the club that summer.

At the time, then-Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia described the youngster as “one of the most sought-after talents in Europe,” but just over four years later, he was sold for a paltry £20m.

In other words, the West Londoners made a £38m loss on the former Borussia Dortmund star, and with a tally of just 26 goals and 21 assists in 145 games, it would be hard to call him anything other than a flop.

With all that said, then, what does he have to do with Simons?

Well, according to FBref, the American ace is the fifth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Dutchman in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League.

You can gain a better understanding of how this conclusion was reached by taking a look under the hood, at the underlying numbers in which they rank closely.

In this instance, that includes metrics such as non-penalty goals plus assists, shot and goal-creating actions, successful take-ons and more, all per 90.

Non-Penalty G+As

0.67

0.62

Passing Accuracy

78.6%

76.5%

Expected Assists

0.25

0.23

Shot-Creating Actions

4.52

4.54

Goal-Creating Actions

0.50

0.51

Successful Take-Ons

1.38

1.42

In addition to these statistical similarities, the young Dutchman has moved to the Premier League from a German side, just as the Milan man did.

Furthermore, they’re both equally capable of thriving out wide or as an attacking midfielder.

Ultimately, while some fans are understandably upset at missing out on Simons, the fact that Pulisic is so similar to him and failed at Chelsea suggests that perhaps the club were wise to steer clear of him.