Xavi Simons signs for Spurs in a move amounting to upto £52m after snubbing Chelsea, giving Frank more options in attack.
Spurs sign £52m Xavi Simons to give Frank more options in final third.
Tottenham may now celebrate an unexpected swoop of their own after the commotion around Morgan Gibbs-White’s release clause and the painful blow of being caught off guard by Arsenal when it came to Eberechi Eze. They must be relieved not to have been the target of another late hijacking after acting swiftly to sign Xavi Simons, who for the majority of the previous month was regarded as a lock to join Chelsea.
Spurs were naturally anxious as they hurried to finalise a £51.8 million agreement to acquire Simons from RB Leipzig. Prior attempts to increase Thomas Frank’s attacking midfield alternatives had not been successful. After Gibbs-White and Eze, whither next? Under Frank, Spurs have gotten off to a very positive start, winning both of their league games by a combined score of 5-0, but they needed something more in the latter third.
Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are out, and Son Heung-min has left. Since moving from West Ham for £54.5 million, Mohammed Kudus has made an impression, although his best position is on the right. Additional ingenuity is a nice addition. Spurs supporters have had a unique sense of happiness because to Simons’ element of surprise.
How Xavi Simons chose Spurs over Chelsea
Chelsea gave him a serious look. Talk of the 22-year-old waiting for the west London club to make a move was never-ending. It was implied that Chelsea was holding off on selling Christopher Nkunku.
Chelsea, however, felt that improving at left-wing was more important. Alejandro Garnacho, a winger for Manchester United, is the target of their £40 million deal. With Simons, things were more laid back. Chelsea, who shocked everyone by starting negotiations to loan Brighton’s Facundo Buonanotte, never made a bid.
Spurs recognised a chance. On Wednesday, they moved forward and made touch with Leipzig. Simons was taken to London after a bid was made on Thursday. Did that actually happen? The recollection of Chelsea’s 2013 steal of Willian from Shakhtar Donetsk in front of Spurs persisted. Willian had completed his Spurs medical already.
Chelsea, however, was not going to ruin the celebration this time. They will observe with curiosity. Whether Simons can adjust to English football is the obvious question. Leipzig doesn’t appear to care all that much about losing him. According to sources in the German media, Simons’ attitude has been criticised; nevertheless, this could be seen as the usual warning against a player who makes no secret of his wish to leave.
Frank’s challenge with Simons
Making Simons a reliable performer is the difficult part. He’s never been able to settle down. He graduated from Barcelona’s academy, however in 2019, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain. PSV followed, but not for long. Simons was re-signed by PSG in 2023, but Leipzig promptly loaned him to them before purchasing him permanently this year.
For Leipzig, he played a number of positions, including left, No. 8, and midfield cog in a cog box. He can get clarity from Frank.
The manager of the Spurs is adaptive and agile. He utilised an open 4-3-3 when Spurs defeated Burnley at home on the first day of the Super Cup and a strong 5-3-2 when they met PSG. In last weekend’s triumph at Manchester City Frank used a high press and a physical midfield of Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and João Palhinha.
Simons needs to establish himself. His career has been erratic, with stability eluding him. He has the opportunity to regain the calibre that made him a celebrated playmaker in Europe while he was trying to make his breakthrough at Barça by accepting the Spurs project. It provides him with an opportunity to participate.