Xavi Simons promised flair and Tottenham fans are waiting. Drumming fingers because he was unable to influence the game against Aston Villa. Rolling eyes about the failed ‘rabona’ pass at Leeds.
Not quite the drumroll anyone expected before the £52million summer signing made any sort of impact.
A big fee brings impatience. Just ask Florian Wirtz who, at 22, is the same age as Simons and cost more than twice as much for Liverpool to sign from Bayer Leverkusen.
Neither have found it easy to hit the rhythm of the Premier League as they did in the Bundesliga, and Wirtz has been in situ since June. Simons did not arrive until the end of August.
‘It’s a very good comparison,’ said Frank, ahead of a Champions League tie in Monaco. ‘Wirtz, also a very good player just like Xavi coming into a new country, new club, new city, just need to settle and it is part of it.
‘We are all getting judged every game, but we also need to see the bigger perspective. I look for glimpses and with Xavi I asked him to be more arriving in the box and when I looked back at the [Villa] game, he did. Was there a big eye-catching moment? No, but there were glimpses so it’s going a little bit in the right direction.’
Xavi Simons is yet to score a goal for Spurs since signing from RB Leipzig in the summer
The Dutchman promised ‘flair’ when his transfer was announced, but Tottenham supporters are still waiting to see it
Simons has played 499 minutes in all competitions for Spurs and is yet to score. He has registered one assist, on his debut at West Ham when one of his corners was headed in by Pape Matar Sarr.
These basic numbers are not ideal for a player recruited to fill the creative void.
And on days like Sunday, when Villa won at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to goals by Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia, attacking midfielders akin to Simons, drifting between the lines and scoring with high-class finishes from the fringes of the penalty area, it becomes the topic of debate.
Online conspiracies swirled around whether his teammates were passing him the ball.
In the Premier League, however, Opta statistics showed Simons receives more open play passes per 90 minutes than Mohammed Kudus, who has made a strong start to his Spurs career since a £55m move from West Ham.
So, let’s rule out the conspiracy theory. There are probably simpler, more basic factors in play as Thomas Frank tinkers with personnel in attacking areas as he searches for some chemistry.
As for Simons, he has played off the left but is ideally suited as the number 10 in Frank’s current 4-2-3-1 formation. One very good judge of Dutch football told me when he signed that he could not see him excelling in the role off the left Tottenham and thus far it looks like an accurate assessment.
The Netherlands international was nurtured in Barcelona’s La Masia academy. He adored Neymar, trod the same path from Catalunya to Paris Saint-Germain and, when asked to sum up his own style of football in one word after joining Spurs, he opted for ‘flair’ in homage to his hero.
Simons, who has one Spurs assist to his name, may be better off deployed in the number 10 position
The former wonderkid followed in the footsteps of his idol Neymar by leaving Barcelona for PSG
His output at Spurs has however been less fruitful than that of Mohammed Kudus
Simons fits the number 10 role in the modern sense because he has abundant energy. He is quick, dynamic, in perpetual motion, closing defenders down. He can thread passes, bounce one-twos and threaten the goal when on top of his game.
Tottenham have seen him fizzing just the once, off the bench at Brighton to help the team fight back from two down to salvage a draw. In those 29 minutes at the Amex Stadium, Simons had a cluster of three clear shots compared to just the one in the four Premier League games when he started.
He should have scored one of them, but it was undoubtedly his finest display in a Spurs shirt.
It came with Frank’s team committed to attack and opponents rattled. Lucas Bergvall and Joao Palhinha were deep in midfield by the time he came on, Kudus was excelling on the right, Richarlison a physical presence up front and Wilson Odobert, who later gave way to Brennan Johnson, offering pace on the left.
Spurs tried to replicate it a week later against Wolves, deploying Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur deep in midfield, Simons off the left and Bergvall at number 10, but on that day, they were fortunate to escape with a draw, at home against the team bottom of the Premier League.
Frank has restored Simons in the number 10 position for the last two games, sacrificing Bergvall, last season’s player of the year and darling of the fans. At 19, it seems Bergvall has yet to earn the manager’s trust in a deeper midfield role.
Thomas Frank is nevertheless adamant that his new signing will come good
The Dane watched his side slump to a 2-1 loss against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa on Sunday
Spurs also look a better team with Sarr’s mileage in midfield and yet he has not started in the Premier League since Simons made his debut. The right midfield formula eludes Frank, and that is connected as ever to other parts of the team.
‘We are relatively early days,’ said the Dane. ‘There has been a lot of progress overall. Very good in high pressure. Very aggressive against Villa. Very intense. Offensively, we scored quite a few goals and that’s what it’s about.
‘Also, how many teams right now play free-flowing top football three games in a row, in the Premier League? We are aiming for the perfect game every game. That’s what we want. But we know what we are working at and progressing nicely.’
The two recent Premier League games with Simons in number 10 – against Leeds and Aston Villa – both featured Mathys Tel at centre forward rather than Richarlison.
Tel is a very different type of player, who cannot provide the same focal point holding the ball up with his back to goal, duelling with centre halves and linking play as the Brazilian can.
There are missing elements too, because Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani have been injured. Brennan Johnson, top scorer last season, cannot get a game because of Kudus.
And there are moving parts because Frank likes to tweak his tactical plan depending on opponents.
Simons has played in his preferred number 10 role on his last two appearances for Tottenham, but has failed to make an impact
The 22-year-old needs time to adapt but, with players returning soon, needs to learn fast
Villa are solid down the spine, with Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana shielding the central defenders and wide players often tucking inside, so Spurs tried to play around and not through them.
It worked early on, but the Spurs boss conceded he would have liked more creativity from open play.
So, it is not only about Simons. There is more to it, but he must shoulder some responsibility. In his breakthrough year at PSV Eindhoven, he scored 21 goals in 44 appearances, and 24 goals in 78 during two years at Leipzig.
The Premier League is a step up and he might need time to adapt but if he is to be Tottenham’s number 10 and supply the flair, he must influence the games because Bergvall is competing for the same role and Dejan Kulusevski will be back in contention before the end of the year.
