Jamie O’Hara is very critical of Tottenham Hotspur star Xavi Simons
This term has presented a blend of promise and hurdles for Tottenham Hotspur, particularly in the midfield, where new signing Xavi Simons has yet to fully realise his potential. The Dutch international’s summer transfer from RB Leipzig arrived with high expectations, positioned as the creative fulcrum to compensate for injuries to Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison.
However, with only one assist and no goals in the Premier League thus far, questions have arisen regarding his integration. One has to comprehend that this represents a transitional phase rather than a crisis, one that demands patience, understanding of tactical nuances, some refinements, and collective resolve.
Manager Thomas Frank has shown a lot of faith in Xavi, which only goes to show his trust in the player’s abilities despite the minimal output, much of whose blame has to remain attributed to the focus on playmaking from the wide instead of the middle. The 22-year-old’s technical prowess, honed in the Bundesliga, includes exceptional vision and dribbling, qualities that shone during multiple of his loan spells.
Yet the Premier League’s relentless intensity and physicality have exposed adaptation challenges. Former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara’s commentary on Sky Sports, describing Simons as “miles off it” and urging improvement.
“Xavi Simons, he ain’t started in a Tottenham shirt yet. He’s been miles off it, he needs to be better.”
GIVE HIM TIME!
The midfield partnership of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur, while robust defensively, has indeed constrained progressive passing, limiting Simons’ involvement in dangerous zones. The Dutchman remains averse to dropping down deep, which further pulls him away from active moments in the game, isolating him more often than not.
This is very similar to what’s going on at Liverpool with Florian Wirtz. Top-class talents for their respective nations and in the Bundesliga, yet finding it a bit tough to adjust to the pace and multi-faceted demands of the English top tier.
At the end of the day, he’s in a new league adapting to a new style and different levels of opposition, and the least the media can do is give the player some time instead of lashing out at each touch of his. He’s an investment for the future, and he will come good sooner rather than later. Xavi is too good a talent to continue this kind of underperformance.
