Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder Xavi Simons has what it takes to be one of the best players in the entire Premier League, and even in a difficult season with injuries and terrible coaching, Simons still showed flashes of the ability that made him one of the best young players in European football for both PSV in the Netherlands and RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga.
Simons is an intelligent and athletic player who can create plays as a passer, break the lines with the ball at his feet, weave through traffic in the opposition penalty area, and add goals while still working hard defensively.
It is obvious that there is a great rapport building between Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi and his young Dutch midfielder, as Simons was singing his praises and looked especially dangerous on the ball at the end of the 2025/26 Premier League season under De Zerbi before suffering a torn ACL that ended his season.
Xavi Simons will be a game changer
De Zerbi is putting Tottenham Hotspur's money where his mouth is with Xavi Simons. He spent 185 million pounds to bring in two high quality defensive midfielders in the Premier League, Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United and West Ham United's breakout star Mateus Fernandes.
The thinking with both moves is pretty clear. Tottenham want to control games, but they also want to put Simons in a much better position to succeed as a No. 10. Simons was so starved of service and having to run around inefficiently just to get on the ball because of how out of control the Tottenham midfield was last season.
Having Fernandes and Tonali to set the tempo, pass the ball progressively, and play better defense than almost all the midfielders Tottenham had last season will be huge for Simons and allowing him to focus on creating chances and getting into the box on the ball as the main attacking midfielder.
Roberto De Zerbi knows that everyone in the midfield has to have their roles and responsibilities, and while there is overlap, Simons can't be wasting his time or energy running around aimlessly and not getting on the ball in dangerous situations.
Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali are the players who can drive the ball forward and feed Simons in areas where he can be dangerous and get the goals and assists that he was not able to in the 2025/26 season. Simons is a game breaker, and De Zerbi clearly intends on treating him like one.
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