Xavi Simons given fresh Tottenham hope amid ‘crazy’ situation
Xavi Simons has struggled to find his best form for Tottenham since arriving in North London.
Tottenham signed Simons from RB Leipzig over the summer as their marquee signing, but he has since disappointed.
The midfielder was substituted on during Spurs’ draw to Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday, but struggled to get into the game.
While it was suggested that Thomas Frank needed to play Simons in the 10 to get the best out of him, it seems the issue may be deeper than that.
Tottenham fans will need to be patient with Xavi Simons
Despite it being early days, there is an expectation for Simons to succeed at Tottenham.
Giving players time seems to be something long forgotten in football, and fans will be keen to see him play well.
Guglielmo Vicario has already been made a scapegoat at Tottenham, and there will be fears that Simons is next.
However, speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, Tottenham expert and Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham believes fans will need to be patient when it comes to the Netherlands international.
And Wenham believes Simons will get a chance to properly prove himself during a “crazy” schedule.
“I think it’s a case of a young player who has a lot of pressure on him to be an instant success, with the fee that was paid for him and his standing in world football with the clubs that he’s played for,” Wenham said.
“He just needs a bit of time to get up to speed, and I’ve seen glimpses that there is an outstanding player. I think his best position will be in the number 10 rather than off the left, but at the moment he’s played off the left a lot because Thomas Frank’s just wanted to get him in the team.
“He was very good on his debut at West Ham. He just needs a run of games. Tottenham have a run of seven games in 21 days or some sort of crazy schedule, so there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for him to feature.
“Once he gets up to speed, I think he’ll be a fantastic signing for the club.”
How has Xavi Simons performed this season?
Fans have already concluded about Simons’ form, but do the stats corroborate the eye test?
He has accumulated 0.28 in expected league goals this season, according to Sofascore.
- The Dutchman has yet to net his first Spurs goal
- He has one league assist from 0.57 expected assists
- Simons has created one big chance in the Premier League
The attacking midfielder has also registered 1.2 key passes per game and boasts an 86 per cent passing accuracy. On the whole, it’s nothing special.
His Champions League stats are not much better, if not worse. He currently has zero goals from 0.15 expected goals, 0.10 expected assists and has only made 0.3 key passes.
In fairness to him, he has only started in one of the three games so far.
Interestingly, he has only averaged 41.2 touches in the Premier League and 37.7 in the Champions League.
Thus, while his form has been unconvincing, the current set-up doesn’t allow him time or space on the ball, which is a huge issue.
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