Xavi Simons has revealed a brutally honest part of his conversation with Tottenham boss Thomas Frank that convinced him a switch to north London was the right one for him at this stage of his career.
London rivals Chelsea spent the majority of the summer tracking Simons, without actually making a formal offer to RB Leipzig, as they waited on offloading the likes of Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson before making a concrete move.
That allowed Tottenham to jump in and secure the Netherlands international in a £51.8m (€60m, $69.6m) deal towards the end of the summer, with the talented No.10 arriving after the north London outfit had two near misses with Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze.
Simons is expected to fill the void left by James Maddison’s ACL injury and the continued absence of Dejan Kulusevski, although he also has the ability to fill Spurs’ troublesome left-wing spot if required.
And now, speaking about his move to England, Simons has revealed the key role that Frank played in securing his signature and how the Tottenham boss spoke to him about something other managers have been reluctant to do.
Indeed, the 22-year-old admitted that the conversation he had with the Dane convinced him that a move to Tottenham would be the right step for his development.
Speaking to Eindhovens Dagblad, Simons said: “The manager (Frank) told me a lot. Positive things, but also things I need to improve. It’s fantastic how he sees football, how he wants to make players better. Spurs is the right place for me to develop.
“And it’s great that he was honest, that he wants to improve things for me. I always think the coaches are the most important people to base a decision on. As a player, you see a coach more than your family.
“What needs to be improved? I prefer to keep that to myself, but I heard different things from Thomas Frank than from other coaches in the past. That makes sense. When I went to PSV, I was much younger, so you have to work on different things then than you do now.”
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Carragher in major Tottenham, Simons signing claim
Speaking on Sky Sports about Tottenham’s new No.10, Jamie Carragher was full of praise for Simons, having previously seen him play up close for the Netherlands at youth level.
The Liverpool legend revealed that his own son had faced the attacking midfielder, and it was in that moment he felt he was watching a player blessed with outstanding ability.
Carragher said: “Xavi Simons. I watched Xavi Simons play against my son in the summer for Holland, and I was in a seat really close to the pitch, and you really get a good feel for a player.
“He’s got great quality, real good ability, listen, I’m going to say hit. He’s going to Spurs, is that the end for your mate Maddison? (to Roy Keane).”
Tottenham’s move for Simons was also given a big tick by The Athletic, it would seem, after they ranked him as 13th out of all 151 summer signings, while deadline day loan addition Randal Kolo Muani also came in at number 20.
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