Onus on Xavi Simons to step up amidst underwhelming start to life at Tottenham Hotspur
The arrival of world-class talent Xavi Simons at Tottenham Hotspur promised a lot of surge in midfield creativity at Hotspur Lane. Especially in a squad bereft of the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, owing to injury issues. The 22-year-old Dutch midfielder has made a name for himself thanks to his on-the-ball antics and ability to break defensive lines with a lot of ease.
However, eight games into life as a Lilywhite, he has not gone at full throttle. His ledger reads one assist, delivered on debut via a corner for Pape Matar Sarr in a 3-1 win over Fulham, but zero goals. 0.28 XG and 0.57 XA are not a true reflection of the player’s capability. The game against Aston Villa, though, showcased some of Simons‘ fragilities.
He shied away from deeper involvement, opting for safe passes over incisive risks, and mustered no shots. This inability to generate something tangible contributed to Tottenham’s inability to penetrate Villa’s high line, strong yet vulnerable defence, extending their winless home run to three league games.
UNDERINVOLVED
The Standard recently talked about Xavi’s “underperformance”, if you’d like to put it that way. Manager Thomas Frank saw a different side to it, though. He seems to be showing confidence in the player’s ability while also acknowledging that coming in from a different league, facing different levels of opposition, etc., takes time.
“I like Xavi’s personality today, especially in the first half. I think he wanted to get on the ball, he wanted to create. I think he was very aggressive in the pressure. I think it was a fine game.
“I think I need to remember it myself when we judge players and they come into a new club, a new country. I know it’s part of football, [but] we judge them with a very small sample of games.”
“I’m not in doubt that Xavi will be good for us. Today was an average-plus game.”
This issue intersects with Tottenham’s forward-line woes. Dominic Solanke has been out since August, and Mathys Tel is still adapting. They need more drive from midfield, but Simons is barely involved. As a result, they have scored only five goals in seven league games.
A defensive pivot of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur with Xavi as the 10, but with most creativity coming from the flanks, somewhat contributes to the underutilisation of a brilliant player like Simons. Tactically, Spurs have to play through him, either to the centre or towards the wings.
Central progression is always an issue when creative output lies on the wings, but having a player like Simons in the middle should make Frank also rethink how he sets his team up. He’s got to do it in such a way that the balance remains, and creativity from neither part of the pitch should remain subdued. Frank’s pragmatism suggests this “uncomfortable problem” may yet yield dividends, bolstering Tottenham’s push for European contention. Least we hope for that.