Tottenham may appear doomed, but there is still time for them to save themselves from Premier League relegation. Sunday's 1-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland leaves Spurs in the relegation zone, now without a win in 14, their longest sequence for 90 years. Given the continued absence of numerous key players, there is little Roberto De Zerbi can change, but he simply must build the team around Xavi Simons, starting on Saturday evening against Brighton.
After missing out on Morgan Gibbs-White and then Eberechi Eze, Simons appeared to be a very astute signing. He scored 22 goals and racked up 24 assists during 78 appearances for RB Leipzig, before moving to North London for a reported fee of £52 million. Well, he has hardly set the world alight in white, scoring just four times, of which only one has come in the Premier League.
However, a trend has certainly emerged that Tottenham only win when he is in the starting lineup.
List of Tottenham victories in all competitions 2025/26
Date | Result | Did Xavi Simons start? |
|---|---|---|
16 August | 3-0 vs Burnley | Not yet signed |
23 August | 2-0 at Man City | Not yet signed |
13 September | 3-0 at West Ham | Yes |
16 September | 1-0 vs Villarreal | Yes |
24 September | 3-0 vs Doncaster | Yes |
4 October | 2-1 at Leeds | Yes |
26 October | 3-0 at Everton | Yes |
4 November | 4-0 vs København | Yes |
6 December | 2-0 vs Brentford | Yes |
9 December | 3-0 vs Slavia Prague | Yes |
28 December | 1-0 at Crystal Palace | No - suspended |
20 January | 2-0 vs Dortmund | Yes |
28 January | 2-0 at Frankfurt | Yes |
18 March | 3-2 vs Atlético Madrid | Yes |
It is very noticeable that, since he arrived in late-August, Simons has started 11 of Tottenham's 12 victories across all competitions. The sole exception is Spurs' most-recent league win at Selhurst on 28 December, this coming during his three-match ban, having been sent off against Liverpool.
The Dutch international also bagged a brace during their last victory against Atlético Madrid, only to be left on the bench and introduced when the game was already over against Nottingham Forest four days later. All of this is to say that it is baffling that neither Igor Tudor and now De Zerbi don't really seem to believe Simons can contribute. Given that James Maddison, Dejan Kuluševski, Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert are all sidelined, this team is absolutely crying out for a creative spark.
There must be a reason for this, so let's take a look at Simons' statistics when compared to his team mates in an attempt to find one.
Xavi Simons' Tottenham statistics 2025/26
Statistics | Simons | Spurs rank |
|---|---|---|
Minutes | 2,416 | 7th |
Goals | 4 | 7th |
Assists | 5 | 3rd |
Shots | 61 | 2nd |
Shots on target | 16 | 2nd |
Expected assists | 10.13 | 1st |
Big chances created | 12 | 1st |
Key passes per 90 | 1.4 | 3rd |
Successful dribbles per 90 | 1.2 | 3rd |
The numbers do not lie, Simons is certainly Tottenham's creator in chief, hence why he ranks first or second for pretty much every underlying attacking metric. The fact that he has created 12 big chances and racked up an expected assists figure of more than ten, while recording only four actual assists, proves that it is those alongside who are simply not converting the opportunties he is creating.
Spurs host De Zerbi's former side Brighton on Saturday, currently winless in eight Premier League home games, losing six of them, claiming victory from just four of the last 30 overall. Failure to beat the Seagulls, who are the divisions form team would you believe, could leave them in danger of being cut adrift. Surely, the only way Spurs can get out of this mess is by reintegrating Simons and now.
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