Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink knows football, and he knows Xavi Simons. Speaking to The Boy Hotspur, Jimmy told us his thoughts:
…but that’s England. It’s physical. Simons has only just started, but I like Simons. I really like him. I think he’s going to be a big, big, big success at Spurs.
He can play on the left or as a No. 10, but he’s also not scared, and that’s why I like him.
It looked like Simons could have been going to Chelsea, but ended up going to Spurs. What do you make of that sort of scenario?
It’s one of those things. It took a long time, and then you start to think, ‘is it going to happen?’. But then Spurs came in, and then he had to make a decision, as he wanted to be in the Premier League and not at Leipzig any more, so he had a choice to make.
I think he spoke to Thomas Frank, and he really liked what Frank was about, how he was going to play and what his role was going to be.
That was the biggest factor. I think that he had that chat with Frank, and he showed that he really, really wanted him. So, you can understand it.
Xavi Simons played 78 minutes against Wolves on September 27, in a league game for Tottenham, which ended in a 1-1 draw. He had no goals or assists, took no shots, completed 1 of 4 dribbles, and lost possession 24 times.
His performance was described as ineffective, with Tottenham’s manager Thomas Frank noting that Simons’ role as a No. 10 didn’t really work in this game, despite some positive ball-carrying moments.
This will certainly curb some of the initial hysteria that was doing the rounds.
The discussions with Chelsea were significant, but in the end, Frank won his man.
Tottenham and Chelsea are both fantastic clubs with solid projects, and there was real interest from both sides,
said Simons’ agent Ali Barat via Metro.
“But Chelsea was always clear with us; they had certain constraints that made it difficult to move forward with discussions. So when the talks with Tottenham started, it became clear that this would be a project that would be a perfect fit for Xavi.”