Dutch analyst pinpoints the reason for Xavi Simons’ struggles at Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur are yet to win a home Premier League game this season after beating newly-promoted Burnley on the opening weekend. Their misery on home soil continued on Saturday when Thomas Frank and Co. lost 1-0 London rivals Chelsea.
Chelsea were the dominant force for large parts of the game, slicing open the hosts several times but were denied by goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. The Italian international’s crucial stops saved Tottenham from a royal embarrassment at the hands of their cross-town foes. At the opposite end, Spurs were absolutely toothless going forward. They mustered only three shots, with just one on target, in a dull display.
Xavi Simons was a part of the Tottenham attack that did not create anything against Chelsea. Instead, the 22-year-old, who came on as an early concussion substitute following Lucas Bergvall’s head injury, played a key role in Joao Pedro’s winning goal thanks to a poor pass back to Micky van de Ven. He was later substituted in the 73rd minute for Wilson Odobert.
Dutch analyst pinpoints the reason for Xavi Simons' struggles at Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham attacker Xavi Simons was subpar vs Chelsea
Dutch analyst blasts Xavi Simons following his latest subpar show in a Tottenham shirt
Xavi Simons completed a £52million switch from RB Leipzig in final week of the summer transfer window, as Tottenham looked to fill the long-term injured James Maddison’s creative void in the squad. That’s yet to happen, though, with the Dutchman enduring a difficult start to life in England, bagging just an assist in 12 games for Tottenham thus far.
The diminutive playmaker has been slammed by the fans and English media from pillar to post. TalkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara has compared him to Manchester United’s big-money flop Antony, while 1998 French World Cup Frank Leboeuf singled out the young midfielder out after his poor showing in defeat to Chelsea.
To make matters worse, the Dutch media have also started piling on Xavi. Analyst Valentijn Driessen is the latest to criticise the Tottenham man, claiming the “physicality issue” behind the player’s failure to adapt to the demands of Premier League football.
“It’s also sad that you’re called on as a substitute and then taken off again after seventy minutes,” Valentijn Driessen was quoted by FC Update.
“You should have expected that. He doesn’t have the physicality for the Premier League.”
Dutch analyst pinpoints the reason for Xavi Simons' struggles at Tottenham Hotspur.
Can Thomas Frank unlock Xavi Simons’ potential before Tottenham’s patience starts to run thin?
Things are not clicking for Xavi
Xavi’s signing led to plenty of excitement within the Tottenham fanbase, many of whom expected him to hit the ground running after breaking into Frank’s first XI. However, that hasn’t happened for him so far as he continues to struggle with the pace and physicality of the Premier League. The Netherlands international was shrugged off the ball several times against Chelsea, while he lacked the end product in the final third.
The ex-Leipzig star’s lack of impact in north London has led to growing frustration within the fanbase. He has been under tremendous pressure to perform and live up to the billing as a result of the money splashed on him by the Lilywhites. With time, experience and adjustability, Xavi will certainly come good, but things are not clicking at the moment.
Perhaps, Frank could try taking the Dutch midfielder out of the firing line and using him as an impact substitute for the upcoming games to help him adapt to English football.