Thomas Frank has highlighted one underrated part of Xavi Simons’ game that has really impressed him at Tottenham.
The £51m Spurs summer signing has had to deal with more than his fair share of criticism since arriving in North London.
In fact, many had already written off Xavi as a flop at Tottenham, but the Dutchman has now silenced his critics with his last two displays against Brentford and Slavia Prague.
After scoring and assisting against the Bees, the 22-year-old found the back of the net from the penalty spot yesterday as the Lilywhites emerged 3-0 winners against the Czech side.
Thomas Frank praises Xavi Simons’ work rate for Tottenham
The former RB Leipzig man was the creative fulcrum for Spurs on Tuesday, showing his quality on the ball and playing with the kind of flair that we hardly saw earlier in the season.
However, it is the attacking midfielder’s work rate that particularly impressed Frank, who praised Xavi for the recovery run he made in stoppage time.
When asked about the Tottenham number seven’s performance against Slavia Prague, Frank told Football.London: “I think he built on the good game on Saturday, produced again, I would say. Good link-up play, nice turns in the middle of the pitch, where he also got that acceleration to go past the player and open up the spaces.
“I also like his work ethic. For example, there was a great recovery run in 90-plus minutes where he just got all the way back, which is crucial for me, for us, for everyone, to work very hard. So I like his overall performance.”
Xavi is now making the number 10 role his own at Spurs
The Netherlands international was left out of the starting eleven on four consecutive occasions ahead of the game against Brentford on Saturday.
That clearly lit the fire in the 22-year-old to take his opportunity when it is presented, and that is exactly what he has done in the last two games.
Xavi has now earned himself a run of regular starts in the number 10 role, and Spurs fans will be hoping that the attacking midfielder goes from strength to strength.
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