Thomas Frank certainly hasn't hidden his excitement over working with Xavi Simons, and the Tottenham boss was quick to praise the Dutchman for his performance at Elland Road.
Spurs escaped a tough environment at Saturday lunchtime with all three points, courtesy of strikes from Mathys Tel and the outstanding Mohammed Kudus.
Xavi, having struggled against Wolves and appearing off the bench during the 2-2 with Bodø/Glimt, returned to the starting XI in Yorkshire, and Frank opted to start the statement summer signing in his preferred No. 10 position.
Ths boss has so far been reluctant to use Xavi centrally, with the bulk of minutes in Lilywhite arriving down the left, which returned mixed results at best. There was a sense that utilising the playmaker infield would help unlock a Spurs side that was stuttering in possession, and Xavi was undoubtedly key to a more fluid and overall promising performance with the ball on Saturday.
Xavi Simons enjoys bounce-back game in Leeds win
Spurs had to grind out a result at Elland Road, but were able to keep a physical and robust Leeds side at bay after taking their second lead of the bout through Kudus.
The Ghanaian shone, doubtless benefitting from functioning in an attack that wasn't exclusively reliant on him for a source of innovation. The left-hand side burst into life thanks to Frank's team selection. While Destiny Udogie marauded from left-back and Wilson Odobert supplied technical security, Xavi, often stationed in the left half-space, completed a bright triumvirate that had success combining in triangles and helping the visitors progress upfield.
Xavi's performance was full of risk and invention, with the erroneous rabona emerging as a talking point in the game's aftermath. Such risks should be embraced, not discouraged.
"I felt that was Xavi Simons' best game for us," Frank said post-match.
The 22-year-old was limited to just 33 touches—the second lowest figure among Spurs' starters—but so often was Xavi able to manifest his obvious quality. He glides on the pitch, often requiring the subtlest of movements to bypass a defender. Excellent ball manipulation allows him to access angles cut off to others, and he can produce an array of techniques when attempting to tee up a teammate.
On Saturday alone, we had the deft outside of the boot loft in behind for Odobert, from which Tel hit the bar, as well as the scoop for Pedro Porro that the Spaniard should've done more with. Just sumptuous playmaking.
He departed the field after 74 minutes with a facial expression suggesting discontent. The man himself knows he has gears to move through, but the sequences of quality we've seen from him so far renders success an inevitability for the Dutch international in N17.
Good things will continue to happen if Frank utilises him as the face-of-the-franchise profile he was signed to function as.