After the confusion over Morgan Gibbs-White’s release clause and bitter blow of being blindsided by Arsenal when it came to Eberechi Eze, Tottenham can finally celebrate an unlikely swoop of their own. They have moved quickly to land Xavi Simons, who has been touted as a certainty to join Chelsea for much of the past month, and must be relieved not to have fallen victim to yet another late hijack.
There were understandable nerves at Spurs as they raced to complete a £51.8m deal to sign Simons from RB Leipzig. Previous attempts to bolster Thomas Frank’s options in attacking midfield had not gone well. Where next after Eze and Gibbs-White? Spurs have made a hugely encouraging start under Frank, who has won his first two league games by an aggregate score of 5-0, but they needed something extra in the final third. Son Heung-min has gone; James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are out. Mohammed Kudus has impressed since joining from West Ham for £54.5m but he is at his best on the right. The arrival of extra creativity is highly welcome. The element of surprise around Simons has given Spurs fans rare joy.
Frank was still treading carefully at his press conference before Saturday afternoon’s home game against Bournemouth. He would not talk about Simons, even though the Netherlands international was clearly at the training ground. Frank smiled. Asked about a potential signing, he confirmed there was a new international in the building: Djed Spence, who has just received his first England call-up.
Smartly dodged. Frank was less evasive on other issues, saying that Spurs are unlikely to be in the market for another centre-back. He talked about the importance of having options in every position. Spurs, who must deal with the demands of the Champions League, had huge injury problems last season. Simons will give them vital depth.
Chelsea looked long and hard at him. There was constant talk about the 22-year-old waiting for the west London club to make their move. The suggestion was that Chelsea were waiting to sell Christopher Nkunku.
Yet Chelsea believed that strengthening at left-wing was a bigger priority. They have focused on securing a £40m agreement for the Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho. The situation with Simons was more relaxed. There was never a bid from Chelsea, who have caused surprise by opening talks to loan Brighton’s Facundo Buonanotte.
Spurs saw an opportunity. They advanced on Wednesday, contacting Leipzig. A bid was submitted on Thursday and Simons was brought to London. Was it really happening? The memory of Chelsea stealing in front of Spurs to sign Willian from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013 lingered. Willian had already done his Spurs medical.
This time, though, Chelsea had no intention of spoiling the party. They will watch on with interest. The obvious question is whether Simons can adapt to English football. Leipzig do not seem especially bothered about losing him. There have been reports in the German media criticising Simons’ attitude, although that can be interpreted as the standard briefs against a player making no secret of his desire to leave. Frank was asked about his “No Dickheads” policy.
“I actually don’t think there are any people who are a dickhead,” he said. “You’re probably a psychopath if you are. Most people have not been guided well enough. A lot of them need to get guided. It’s human nature. We want to be part of a clan. Part of something. You feel you are accepted, you want to do more.”
The challenge with Simons is to mould him into a consistent performer. He has never quite found a home. He came through Barcelona’s academy but left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2019. Next came PSV, although not for long. The bouncing around continued, PSG re-signing Simons in 2023 and immediately loaning him to Leipzig, who eventually bought him permanently this year.
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In that context perhaps it is not a surprise there are suggestions that teams have struggled to work out how best to use Simons. It is said he is at his best in a 4-3-3. He had a variety of roles for Leipzig: sometimes a No 8, sometimes on the left, sometimes a cog in a box midfield. Frank can give him clarity.
The Spurs manager is flexible and adaptable. He used a solid 5-3-2 when Spurs faced PSG in the Super Cup and an open 4-3-3 when they beat Burnley at home on the opening day. 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.
“I think when you see players perform their best, most likely they play in one position,” Frank said. “But that is not to say they can’t play across a front four or front three. Modern football is much more flexible now.”
Frank sees different ways to mould his midfield. It is interesting that Spurs have gone for an array of profiles in the final third. Gibbs-White, Eze and Simons have different strengths. Simons has to find his place. He has had a restless career, stability eluding him. Choosing the Spurs project gives him a chance to rediscover the level that meant he was feted as one of the best playmakers in Europe when he was striving for his breakthrough at Barça. It gives him a chance to be part of something.
