Tottenham Hotspur’s next manager will have a big job ahead of them, but Xavi Simons must be the focal point of their rebuild.
Spurs are on the hunt for their third manager of the season after the sacking of Igor Tudor, and Roberto De Zerbi looks to be that man.
The N17 outfit finds itself embroiled in the relegation battle, with Simons playing a rotation role under Tudor over recent weeks.
Spurs’ summer signing has shown promising signs in his performances, which makes his exclusion all the more odd.
Now, Simons could be key for Tottenham’s future manager and, if utilised correctly, can keep the Lilywhites in the Premier League.
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How Xavi Simons can keep Tottenham in the Premier League
Simons came to Tottenham with a big reputation and plenty of expectations, but he has yet to truly reach those heights.
At 22 years old, the Dutch international still has plenty of room to grow, and he has shown promise at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
If the next Spurs manager can instil confidence into the attacking midfielder and get him into the correct positions, he can be a difference-maker.
This season, no Tottenham players have created more big chances (six) or created a higher expected assists total (3.55) than Simons.
Additionally, only Mohammed Kudus (five) has provided more assists than Simons (four) in the Premier League for Spurs this campaign, as per Sofascore.
The 22-year-old also produces the third-most key passes (1.2) per match within the squad and has maintained an 82 per cent passing accuracy this season.
The attacking midfielder certainly has the quality to drive Spurs forward; he just needs a manager who can free him up to impact games.
Does Roberto De Zerbi play with an attacking midfielder?
As it stands, De Zerbi is the leading contender to take over at Tottenham.
For Simons, that is an appointment that will excite him based on De Zerbi’s previous work in England and the fact that he plays with a number 10.
At Brighton, the Italian utilised a 4-2-3-1 formation quite often and was able to extract strong seasons out of players such as Alexis Mac Allister and Joao Pedro, who often played behind the striker.
With a player of Simons’ quality, De Zerbi could be able to repeat the trick and provide Spurs with another arrow in their bow.