Tottenham thought they had signed a generational talent this summer when they bagged Xavi Simons, but things haven’t quite worked out for him just yet.
Xavi Simons was touted as one of the signings of the summer. He could have been a real gamechanger for Tottenham. He still could be, but he needs to improve quickly.
Some have said Simons is taking too much time on the ball. Others suggest Simons just needs to settle in and that things will get better as time goes on.
Whichever way you look at it, though, it’s not been a successful move so far. But, former Spurs man David Bentley thinks we could be seeing a similar situation to what happened with Luka Modric when he first came to the Premier League.
What David Bentley said about Xavi Simons
In a recent appearance on talkSPORT, Bentley criticised Simons’ latest performance against Chelsea, but pondered the idea that Thomas Frank may be using the Dutchman in the wrong position.
He said: “I thought it was very poor. It was it was poor. You can’t deny that. He doesn’t look physically at it or capable at the minute. It’s maybe similar to when Modric came through the door actually and I’m unsure about his position because he’s playing him on the left.
“I’m not I’m not too sure whether he needs to sit in the hole, play the 10 role and whether he needs to be sort of getting on the ball and linking play a little bit more rather than attacking his full-backs.”
Indeed, Frank surprised everyone with his team selection on Saturday evening. Simons was left out of the starting line-up before replacing Lucas Bergvall who suffered a concussion. The Dutch star then operated on the left, but has previously played in the hole behind the forward, and a little deeper.
None of those positions have really worked so far, but there is still hope…
Will Xavi Simons find his feet at Tottenham?
Spurs fans were positive about Simons after the Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle last week, with the young midfielder winning plenty of duels and registering a couple of key passes in the game.
The fact is, this is a 22-year-old who has just moved to a new football club in a new country, playing in the most difficult division in the world. It was always going to take him some time to adjust, and it doesn’t help that Simons is not the most physical player, either.
It’s also worth noting that he’s joined a club where the new manager is still trying to figure out the best system and combination of players. That inconsistency is never going to be conducive to a new player’s settling in period.
There is a line, of course, and we can’t make too many excuses for Simons. But, at the same time, it’s really not helpful for anyone to get frustrated or angry about his performances so early in his Spurs career.