Relegation is a bona fide fear among Tottenham Hotspur supporters. Currently four points above the drop zone with just 11 matches to go, the new manager Igor Tudor really needs his talented players to come to the fore, and that assertion very much applies to Xavi Simons.
After missing out on both Morgan Gibbs-White and then, infamously, Eberechi Eze, most Spurs supporters were pretty content when the Dutch international arrived from RB Leipzig for a reported fee of £51 million. However, fair to say that the 22 year old has not lived up to expectations.
Simons was dispossessed on seven occasions against Arsenal, which is the most by any player in any Premier League match all season. Overall, he has scored a miserly two goals for the Lilywhites, on target against Brentford and then Slavia Prague in the Champions League, the latter a penalty, and his overall statistics do not make for great reading.
Xavi Simons' Premier League statistics
Note: Stats via FBref & SofaScore
Simons' attacking statistics are generally pretty middling across the board. He does rank highly among his Tottenham teammates, but the fact he's often in the hundreds across the entire Premier League underlines just how poor Spurs have been.
For instance, he has created fewer big chances than James Garner, Jacob Murphy, Anton Stach, Nordi Mukiele, Jordan Henderson, Brenden Aaronson and many more, even though this is literally what he is in the team for. So, can Simons spark into life and salvage Spurs from the drop?
Could Tottenham actually get relegated?
Right now, Tudor very much has limited options at his disposal. Cristian Romero remains suspended for the next two fixtures, while Kevin Danso, Destiny Udogie, Ben Davies, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kuluševski, Wilson Odobert, James Maddison and Mohammed Kudus remain sidelined long-term.
In better news, Richarlison did come off the bench at the weekend, his first appearance since 10 January, while there is optimism Pedro Porro is nearing a return. Well, given their fixture list, with Champions League knockout ties to come too, Tudor will need all the help he can get.
Tottenham Hotspur's next 6 fixtures
Sunday 1 March. Fulham (A). Premier League. Kick off 14:00.
Thursday 5 March. Crystal Palace (H). Premier League. Kick off 20:00.
Tuesday 10 March. Atlético Madrid/Galatasaray/Juventus (A). Champions League.
Sunday 15 March. Liverpool (A). Premier League. Kick off 16:30.
Wednesday 18 March. Atlético Madrid/Galatasaray/Juventus (H). Champions League.
Sunday 22 March. Nottingham Forest (H). Premier League. Kick off 14:15.
Sunday's trip to Craven Cottage is massive, especially considering they lost all three away matches against Fulham under Ange Postecoglou. The trip to Anfield seems like a write off, while the home matches against fellow strugglers Palace and Forest are golden chances for points. Nevertheless, given how nervous, defeatist and toxic the atmosphere is right now, they are far from gimmes.
Given all the absentees, players like Simons really need to stand up and be counted, or Tottenham genuinely could see their 48-year stay in the top division come to an end.