Tottenham Hotspur lured the talent to the Premier League in the summer transfer window for a hefty fee
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Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 2-1 at home by Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon. They took the lead early on through midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, their opponents fought back to win with Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia on the scoresheet.
Thomas Frank’s side are currently positioned in 6th place in the Premier League table after their first eight fixtures. They are only a point off the top four and are back in league action on Sunday against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. In the meantime, they face an away trip to AS Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur need to stick with Xavi Simons
Spurs forked out a hefty £52million to land Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig in the last transfer window. They paid big cash to sign the attacking midfielder and he was handed a long-term contract running until 2030. However, it has taken him a while to get going and he has struggled for form so far.
Simons, 22, has made seven appearances in all competitions for the London outfit to date, four of which have come in the league, and he is yet to score. He looked bright in spells against Aston Villa last time out but wasn’t able to stamp his mark on the game. The Holland international, who has 31 caps to his name, needs a goal as soon as possible to ease some of the pressure off his back.
As with any player from abroad, it can take time to adapt to life in a new country. The Amsterdam-born man is still getting used to unfamiliar surroundings and has been planted into one of the toughtest divisions in the world. Therefore, it is no real surprise to see him taking his time as he looks to find his feet.
What has Thomas Frank said about Tottenham Hotspur’s Xavi Simons?
Speaking after their defeat to Aston Villa, Spurs boss Frank had this to say about Simons’ performance: "I like Xavi's personality today, especially in the first half. I think he wanted to get on the ball, he wanted to create. I think he was very aggressive in the pressure. I think it was a fine game. I think I need to remember it myself when we judge players and they come into a new club, a new country. I know it's part of football, [but] we judge them with a very small sample of games. I'm not in doubt that Xavi will be good for us. Today was an average-plus game."
Simons is still young and has bags of potential. He is a more long-term option for Spurs and their supporters shouldn’t criticise him too much at this moment in time. He still has plenty of time to turn things around and prove himself in England.
PSG signed him in 2019 from Barcelona and ended up re-signing him later down the line from PSV. He then ended up on loan at Leipzig in 2023 before his switch to Germany was later made permanent. Simons was a hit during his time with the Bundesliga outfit and fired 22 goals in 78 outings, 11 of which came last term, to earn his recent transfer.
Spurs will have their fingers crossed that he can find the net as quickly as possible. If he does, the goals should start to flow for him. Everton will be tough opponents for Frank’s men this weekend and they will need to be at their best to get something at their new stadium. The Toffees beat Crystal Palace in their last outing there with Jack Grealish scoring a dramatic winner.