The Roberto De Zerbi era has officially dawned on Tottenham Hotspur, and if the former Brighton and Marseille manager is indeed in it for the long haul at the N17, then the fans are especially intrigued to see how he makes use of the many top young talents at the club.
Players like Mathys Tel, Archie Gray, and Lucas Bergvall are just dying to break out into true superstardom. But there are also young players at Spurs who are already stars in world football, and the one who comes to mind the most is attacking midfielder Xavi Simons.
In all honesty, Simons has been a bit disappointing in his first season since making an approximately 60 million euro move from Bundesliga giants RB Leipzig to Spurs, but there have been flashes of world class quality from the former Barcelona academy product that made him such a stud for both PSV and Leipzig before his time in the Premier League.
Roberto De Zerbi is a fan of Xavi Simons
At the press conference before Sunday's crucial matchup with Sunderland in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi spoke highly of Xavi Simons, praising the Dutch international as a "big talent", via Lilywhite Rose.
Yes, it is an obvious statement for De Zerbi to make, and it would maybe be more headline worthy if RDZ said anything else about his 22 year old attacking midfield gem. But it is nonetheless something for Tottenham fans to get excited about, because De Zerbi gassing up and being happy to work with Simons is a reminder of how much further the Dutchman can go with the new coach.
Simons looked so frustrated under the cowardly football under Thomas Frank, and, honestly, the coaching of Igor Tudor was only marginally better by comparison, simply because Frank was so hopelessly inept.
Meanwhile, Roberto De Zerbi is a coach with the same philosophy and mentality of Ange Postecoglou in terms of always wanting to go all out and win, and yet he has the actual tactical acumen to potentially execute for a club like Tottenham.
The result could be their athletic starting No. 10 truly busting out and playing some great football, just like he did in the Dutch and German top flights, as well as in the Europa League and Champions League. And even in the Champions League this season when even Frank was trying to score, Simosn showed that quality. He could be eating good soon.