“If a great talent suddenly appears, I choose him,” said Louis van Gaal. The national coach gave hope to all dreamers, including Xavi Simons.

Now, less than two weeks before Van Gaal announce their final squad, that dream is close for 19-year-old Simons. The pre-selection is already there.

If van Gaal still had any doubts, Simons’ performances against Arsenal in the Europa League could have convinced the national coach. It became clear that the talent can not only compete in the Eredivisie, but also against the leaders of the Premier League.

“It’s great to see how quickly he’s developing,” said his coach Ruud van Nistelrooij at the game in London. “Because it could have been a Champions League game with this opponent. He did an excellent job.”

Last Thursday, Simons was the star again. “Xavi happily dribbled the whole game,” said Van Nistelrooij admiringly. “He was important with and without the ball, playfully. He has to show that every week, every time. He’s doing it now.”

The attacking midfielder is just 19 years old and has featured alongside Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in his career. So with the world greats of football. Otherwise he was a hype, since his first steps in the youth of FC Barcelona.

Great seasoning

But the extent of his talent was only to be seen when he left Paris Saint-Germain last summer and opted for the first division in terms of minutes played. At PSV, within a few months he turned out to be the great pacesetter within the team.

“It’s also because of his attitude. He puts a lot of energy into his game and he combines that with efficiency,” Erwin van de Looi told NOS. The national coach let Simons make his debut with the Dutch juniors last month. “We have more pearls, but of course Xavi is a beautiful player. A player who pleases.”

More and more celebrities are now convinced of this. A growing number of celebrities are crediting Simons with playing a trump card for the Orange team at the World Cup.

“Such a boy of just nineteen with these curls, who inspires a whole stadium and is not afraid of the devil,” said Feyenoord icon Willem van Hanegem in the Willem & Wessel Podcast of AD. “With a view to later major tournaments, it would be nice if Simons would now also experience a World Cup.”

For Pierre van Hooijdonk, Simons should not only come because of the future. “He’s good enough too,” said the former international Studio Soccer.

Like Robben 2004 and Depay 2014

Former national team coach Dick Advocaat compared De Telegraaf to young Arjen Robben, who got him a spot in the 2004 European Championship selection.

“It’s a great experience for such a young player to be part of such a big tournament,” says Advocaat. “I also signaled Robben early on: Whatever happens, if you’re fit, you’ll come along. A player like that can later benefit from that, and so can the Dutch national team.”

A past situation that bears even more similarities to Simons’ is that of young Memphis Depay at the 2014 World Cup. “That’s a bit reserved for Xavi Simons,” Rafael van der Vaart said in Studio Soccer.

Van der Vaart: “If things don’t go well, you bring him in. I hope Xavi Simons gets this role. Without pressure, without ballast, he can break everything open.”

Interestingly, Van Gaal thought young Depay was good enough to take him to Brazil when the finals were even down three players. And the then 20-year-old Depay certainly did not go unpunished in the minutes he was allotted with his first goals in orange.

Bert van Marwijk also sometimes addressed youth, with 18-year-old Jetro Willems as permanent left-back at the 2012 European Championship.

“Basically, I don’t think age should matter,” the now-retired coach told De Telegraaf. “The image I have of Simons is an outgoing boy who can make a difference. Boys who do that at such a young age generally become great players.”

Van Nistelrooij goes one step further: “If you’re nineteen and can play like that, then then the sky is the limit.”

The big question is: who will convince Van Gaal now that the calls for the teenager are getting louder? As a national coach, Van de Looi is basically close to the Dutch juniors. “I’m convinced of him,” says Van de Looi a bit on the tie. “Hopefully my opinion will be appreciated by Louis van Gaal.”

In any case, the goodwill factor for Simons is high, notes Van de Looi.

After his own experiences with the teenage star, he also knows exactly how this hype came about. “Because he can play football well and simply radiates that he really enjoys playing football.”