Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a fantastic start to the Premier League campaign under Thomas Frank and sit third in the table, but one of their new additions hasn’t had the expected impact so far.
Spurs had a net spend of around £150m in the summer transfer window, and the investment, coupled with the appointment of Frank, is showing signs of transforming them into a better side.
One of the biggest names brought in was Xavi Simons, who was signed from RB Leipzig for a fee of £51m. But the 22-year-old is yet to score his first goal for Tottenham and has only contributed one assist.
The Dutchman played the full 90 minutes of Spurs’ 2-0 defeat to Newcastle last night, but once again drew another blank.
TEAMtalk transfer insider Dean Jones insists, however, that Tottenham believe Simons will not be a repeat of Timo Werner, who struggled to make an impact when he joined from Leipzig.
“It has been a slow start to life at Spurs for Xavi Simons, there is not much doubt about that. But I do not sense any panic or a feeling that they may have made a mistake in signing him,” Jones stated.
“They had a strong feeling in his ability and that has not disappeared over this small opening period.
“This is not a Timo Werner situation. They were happy with him going back to Leipzig but my understanding is they believe they still have a top talent here in Simons that they have taken from the German club.
“One of the difficulties has been the lack of genuine quality in that attack. Kudus has done well since signing but there has not been any other consistent, top-notch performances in the attack outside of that.
“Maybe once Solanke is back in the team and Kolo Muani is more in the groove we will start to see Simons at his best. It’s too soon to hold regret over signing him.”
Tottenham still back summer signing to be a big success
Simons has started Tottenham’s last three Premier League games, playing as either a winger or attacking midfielder in Frank’s fluid system.
The partnership of him and Mohamed Kudus on either flank certainly has the potential to be a potent one for Spurs as they look to challenge for trophies this season.
But Simons’ creativity needs to be backed up with clinical finishing from his striker, and the feeling is that once Dominic Solanke recovers from injury, he could pick up more assists.
Spurs are also considering signing a new striker in January amid uncertainty over the future of Richarlison.
TEAMtalk has revealed that Porto striker Samu Aghehowa has been scouted extensively by Tottenham and he is one of the players on their shortlist.
Aghehowa has notched 36 goals in 56 appearances for Porto, and the interest suggests that Frank wants to sign a prolific forward who can thrive off the supply from the likes of Simons and Kudus.
Simons looks set to remain a key part of Frank’s team and he will hope to score a goal of his own when Tottenham face Chelsea in a big Premier League clash on Saturday.
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Meanwhile, reports suggest that Tottenham could go head-to-head with Chelsea in the race to sign Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic.
The Serbian international’s contract with Juve expires next summer and he is increasingly likely to leave the Italian club in 2026, perhaps in January.
In other news, a shock report has claimed that a bid of £88m would be enough to convince Spurs to sell Micky van de Ven, amid interest from Liverpool and Real Madrid.
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