Even though the final feeling from the 2025/26 Premier League season for Tottenham Hotspur was a moment of jubilation as a result of their survival of the relegation battle with a 1-0 win over Everton, the overall sentiment of the campaign was that of embarrassment. No team in European football was as disappointing as Spurs, who replicated their 17th placed finish in the Premier League after winning the Europa League in 2025.
Still, not all was bad for Spurs. The two blockbuster additions of Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons proved to be real assets and bright sparks on an otherwise dismal team, showing that they have the potential to be world class attacking game changers that Spurs desperately need in this era with Son Heung-min and striker Harry Kane.
Yet even SImons and Kudus are catching strays from the mainstream. Recently, ESPN writer Bill Connelly named his worst signings of the 2025/26 Premier League season, and he will surely catch some flack from Tottenham supporters after ranking Kudus the fourth worst signing of the summer 2025 window while giving Simons a not so honorable mention on his list of five.
Mohammed Kudus is still underrated
Connelly wrote scathing commentary on Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons, "Take your pick between Kudus and Xavi Simons, really. Spurs acquired the duo for a combined 128.8 million, but Simons struggled with the league's physicality, Kudus could really only win 1v1s (like Doku with half the danger), and neither benefited from Tottenham's utter inability to pass the ball. They played just 3,302 minutes between them and managed four goals with 10 assists."
Tottenham Hotspur fans and probably many other Premier League analysts will not agree with Connelly's assertions. Kudus was averaging 2.7 dribbles completed and 1.2 key passes per game for Spurs as one of the most effective dribblers in the Premier League prior to his season ending injury, and five assists in 19 starts for one of the worst attacks in the league with no real goal scoring threat is actually quite impressive. Anyone watching Spurs last season could see how much Kudus was carrying the attack.
Simons was also very impressive when he did actually play, and if anyone can be criticized for Simons not initially making good on his price tag, then it would be Thomas Frank for playing such cowardly football - or not playing the Dutchman at all. It is wild to think that Simons and Kudus were among the worst signings in the league, especially when Jamie Gittens, who did less than zero for Chelsea last season, was ranked in a more favorable spot than Kudus.