Following his arrival from Paris Saint-Germain, Xavi Simons is now three games into life at Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite only being 22 years old, Xavi Simons has already played for several big-name clubs across Europe.
Tottenham’s new number 10 actually began life in Barcelona’s academy before he made the switch to Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.
And following impressive loan spells at both PSV Eindhoven and RB Leipzig, the Dutch international has eventually found his way to Spurs.
As it stands, Thomas Frank is still deciding Simons’ best position at Tottenham – he’s played as both a left winger and in a number 10 role since his big-money move.
Gary Lineker is encouraged by Xavi Simons’ early displays at Tottenham
That being said, Gary Lineker has now provided his early thoughts on Simons’ start at Spurs on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast.
Lineker praised Tottenham for their comeback against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, a match they drew despite being 2-0 down.
And after calling Mohammed Kudus a ‘real threat’ for Spurs, Lineker then briefly spoke about Simons, who had to settle for a spot on the bench initially at the Amex Stadium.
Simons was introduced in the second half in the number 10 role, and the former RB Leipzig man certainly had an effect on the game.
Sharing his thoughts, Lineker said: “I think Simons will do all right as well. He had a couple of opportunities where he perhaps could have done better with a finish, but he was busy and looked to be a threat as well.”
Of course, Frank does have several options to use in attack – both Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson were also on the bench against Brighton.
And when you consider that Randal Kolo Muani is still yet to get going for Spurs, the situation looks pretty healthy.
Thomas Frank might need to tweak his system for Xavi Simons
In terms of Frank getting the best out of Simons, it could be the case that the former Brentford boss eventually needs to adjust his system slightly.
Against Brighton, Spurs played with a relatively flat midfield – Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur were just ahead of Joao Palhinha.
But perhaps against teams who Tottenham expect to beat – just like Wolverhampton Wanderers at home next weekend, Simons could be deployed as a proper number 10.
In that scenario, one of Bergvall or Bentancur could be sacrificed, even if the pair have been performing so well.
But either way, the early signs suggest that Spurs fans can trust Frank to get it right, a manager who has started remarkably well in N17.
Spurs face Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup in midweek before playing Wolves on Saturday, and perhaps that will be the perfect opportunity for Frank to experiment with his side.