Jamie O'Hara gave a brutal assessment of Xavi Simons' performance in Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea by suggesting the Dutch attacker looked like he had "never played a game of first-team football while also ripping into a fellow summer signing.
Spurs suffered a fifth consecutive defeat to their London rivals courtesy of Joao Pedro's 34th-minute strike, but it could have been much worse for Thomas Frank. The hosts were toothless up top, and their lack of a proven goalscorer remains a major issue that needs to be rectified if they are to challenge for a top-four finish.
Frank was forced to bring Lucas Bergvall off in the early stages due to injury, and he gave Simons the chance to impress amid a disappointing start to his career with the Lilywhites. But the 22-year-old looked devoid of confidence, and he made the dreaded return to the bench in the second half.
Jamie O'Hara RIPS into Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani
Simons, for many, was expected to be one of the signings of the season and Spurs captured the Dutchman at the expense of Saturday's opponents. It seemed for all the world that the former RB Leipzig man was headed to Stamford Bridge until Frank came calling and the North Londoners insisted on paying the £60m valuation.
O'Hara thinks the club's transfer chiefs made a massive mistake after watching his outing last night. Their former midfielder turned pundit was irate when writing on X, also pointing out the quiet display from Randal Kolo Muani:
"Absolutely terrible today should of been 4-0 to Chelsea, players look like they’ve forgotten how to score a goal, (Kolo Muani) did he even play? Xavi Simons is looking like the worst 60 million ever spent, like a youth team player who ain’t ever played first team football, shocking."
Simons caught the eye at the European Championships in the summer of 2024, scoring a sensational goal in the Netherlands' 2-1 defeat to England. That was one of many standout performances he'd put in for the Dutch but he had also been making a name for himself at club level.
He thrived as PSV Eindhoven's talisman under Ruud van Nistelrooy, winning the Eredivisie Golden Boot in 2023 with 19 goals. But Paris Saint-Germain, his parent club, seemingly had reservations as they agreed to sell him to Leipzig off the back of his exploits at Euro 2024.
Simons has now gone 11 games without a goal or an assist following his debut which saw him set up Pape Matar Sarr in a 3-0 win over West Ham United (September 13). But he isn't the only one who was called out for a frustrating night against Chelsea.
Kolo Muani did himself no favours up top, offering little threat and failing to live up to expectations after a successful loan spell at Juventus in the second half of last season. The French striker arrived on loan on deadline day, but injuries derailed his start under Frank, and based on such performances as last night, he may be headed back to the bench.