Xavi Simons reveals Thomas Frank message that made him choose Tottenham over Chelsea
Xavi Simons has opened up on the reasoning behind his decision to join Tottenham over Chelsea this summer.
The Netherlands international completed a £52million move to N17 in the latter stages of the window, after a hugely productive two-year spell with RB Leipzig.
Tottenham moved quickly to land Simons, as they accelerated beyond their bitter rivals Chelsea in the race for his signature, and ultimately got the deal done.
The urgency that was shown when conducting the deal will have delighted Thomas Frank, and it also appears that he played a big role in helping to secure the signing.
Thomas Frank played a big role in Xavi Simons’ decision
Simons’ arrival at Tottenham is a hugely exciting piece of business for the North Londoners.
The 22-year-old has become the fifth-most expensive signing in their history, slotting in just behind fellow new man Mohammed Kudus in their list of record buys.
He is a player of growing quality, and will undoubtedly be a big acquisition for Spurs in the long term.
The fact that he chose to join them ahead of Chelsea is a huge boost to their project, and it has also now become clear that Frank played a big role in convincing him to join.
- Simons has already made over 130 senior appearances by the age of 22
- He spent time in the academies of both Barcelona and PSG
- He notched 42 goal contributions in just 78 games across his time with Leipzig
The attacking midfielder is away on international duty with the Netherlands this week, and has revealed the conversations that he had with Frank in an interview with Dutch outlet Eindhovens Dagblad.
“The manager (Frank) told me a lot,” Simons said.
“Positive things, but also things that 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.
“What needs to be improved? I prefer to keep that to myself, but I heard different things from Frank than from other coaches in the past.”
Tottenham fans can watch Xavi Simons in action early
Spurs fans can watch Simons in action for the Netherlands this week, before they see him pull on their shirt for the first time after the international break.
The youngster is likely to be part of Ronald Koeman’s squad to take on Poland on Thursday evening, with the game available to stream on Amazon Prime when it kicks off at 7:45pm BST.
The Lilywhites faithful will surely be eagerly awaiting the clash with West Ham on 13 September, as this could see Simons make his debut in their colours, providing he makes it through the international break without sustaining any sort of injury.
Deadline day arrival Randal Kolo Muani could also debut against the East Londoners, although he has not been included in the France squad for the latest round of fixtures.
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