Jermaine Jenas believes Xavi Simons is getting frustrated with himself at Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur were in dire need of a creative midfielder during the summer transfer window owing to injuries to James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski. They faced numerous setbacks in their pursuit of a No.10 before landing Xavi Simons in the final week of the transfer window.
Xavi Simons was one of the most exciting and productive attacking midfielders in Europe during his time at RB Leipzig, which is why he was so sought-after in the summer. Tottenham managed to beat Chelsea to the Dutchman’s signature, lifting the excitement levels of the fans. However, he hasn’t quite found his feet in English football since arriving from RB Leipzig.
Before coming into the Everton game on Sunday, the 22-year-old had started four of his first five games for the Lilywhites, bagging an assist on his debut against West Ham United but failing to make other opportunities count. The Netherlands international was poor in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend and did not do much when he came on as a substitute against AS Monaco in the Champions League.
Ex-Spurs midfielder gives honest verdict on Xavi Simons
Yet, Thomas Frank handed Xavi a start against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday. Tottenham were excellent and full value for the 3-0 win over Everton. The victory lifted them to third in the table, but it was another frustrating display from Xavi that would have left the fans concerned.
Glenn Hoddle hopes the 22-year-old will shine eventually at Spurs after a slow start to life in England. Now, former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas has given his verdict on the 22-year-old. He thinks the creative midfielder is becoming frustrated as he is not really getting into sync with his teammates and building relationships on the pitch.
“I always have concerns when it’s like, why did Barca let him go? Why did PSG let him go?” Jermaine Jenas said about Xavi on the Wildcards Podcast.
“I mean, you’ve had a couple with Palmer and so on since this new financial situation came into play. But I actually feel sorry for him a little bit.”
“I think that he has the quality to be that more central figure. But you can already see him getting a little bit frustrated. People are not seeing things quick enough with him and he’s not building those relationships that he needs to build.
“I actually think he’s going to be all right. I think he’s going to need six months just to bed into the Prem and stuff. But I actually quite like what I’m seeing from him when he’s central.”
Xavi has to up his game
Tottenham see Xavi as a future star, and he will get plenty of time and opportunities to flourish. In Thomas Frank’s own admission, he is adapting well to the demands of Premier League football. However, the Dutch talent is not doing himself favours and showing tendency of drifting out of games. He was hooked after an hour with Spurs leading 2-0 against Everton on Sunday.
Another underwhelming display from Xavi has left question marks over his signing and the fans are rightly frustrated with his decision-making on and off the ball. The ex-Leipzig star has to step up his game and start producing the goods in the final third for which Spurs invested so heavily in him. The Dutchman is a talented player and must do his best to take the creative burden off Mohammed Kudus’ shoulders.
