Journo feels Thomas Frank has been using Xavi Simons on the left flank at Tottenham Hotspur to help him adapt to the Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur have shown signs of progress under new boss Thomas Frank. The Lilywhites opened their Champions League campaign on Tuesday night with a win over Villarreal, building on their weekend’s victory at West Ham United in the Premier League.
The West Ham game saw summer signing Xavi Simons make his debut for Spurs. Thomas Frank chose to throw the 22-year-old straight into the starting XI, and the player looked unfazed right from the onset. The Dutchman, starting on the left flank, delivered an assist from the corner for Pape Matar Sarr’s header on his debut that lasted 71 minutes.
Xavi Simons was handed his second start in a Tottenham shirt on Tuesday night against Villarreal in the Champions League, and he was once again tasked to operate from a left wide role. The creative midfielder was not as effective as the West Ham game but still did well against Villarreal to suggest he can operate out wide.
Alasdair Gold makes claim on Thomas Frank’s usage of Xavi Simons
Xavi has shown glimpses of quality and potential across two games he’s played for the north London club. This has come even after not operating from his natural position, as the Netherlands international recently admitted his preference to operate from the No.10 role.
Given that James Maddison is out for the majority of the campaign due to an ACL injury, and Dejan Kulusevski unlikely to get fit until mid-December, the situation was tailor-made for Xavi to take up the No.10 spot and run the show. Instead, Frank has used him off the left in his first two outings, and Alasdair Gold has given the reason behind the Danish tactician’s thinking.
The reputed journalist thinks Frank is using the summer signing from RB Leipzig on the left wing in an attempt to help him get acclimatized to the demands of Premier League football, even though the Tottenham gaffer recently told him about his plans to play the Dutch talent as a No.10.
“In terms of the playmaker, of course it is Xavi right now. It’s very early days for him. Um, and you know, he’s only 22 and thus far has been used out on the left despite Thomas Frank telling me last week that the majority of the time he was going to play him as a number 10,” Alasdair Gold said in his YouTube channel.
“But I get it, you know, in terms of what he’s trying to do right now. He’s starting him out there, getting him used to the Premier League, I suppose, in a role that maybe isn’t as crucial defensively, although it does create a lot of work for the left back.”
Xavi’s future at Tottenham lies in the No.10 role
In the absences of Maddison and Kulusevski, Xavi, who was praised by fellow summer signing Joao Palhinha after the Villarreal win, looks the obvious candidate to take up the creative responsibility. Mohammed Kudus is also a creative footballer and that has helped Spurs, but if we are looking for someone who can run the show from a central position and join the midfield with attack, it is Xavi.
For the time being, though, the Dutchman has featured on the left flank and his natural tendency has been to drift inside and create an opening in the final third. The youngster played in such roles at his former club RB Leipzig, so it is not new for him and that shows his versatility, but if we are talking about Xavi’s position in the long run, it’s got to be in the hole behind the striker. If Tottenham are to see the best of Xavi, he has to play centrally.