Jamie O’Hara has now made a bold Xavi Simons claim, comparing the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder with Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze.
The £53 million Tottenham Hotspur spent on Xavi Simons last summer is beginning to look like money well spent.
The Spurs number seven had a difficult start to life in a Tottenham shirt following his move from RB Leipzig, as he managed just the one assist in his opening ten games for the Lilywhites.
However, in recent weeks, it looks like the Dutchman has begun to adapt to life in the Premier League with Tottenham.
He grabbed an assist against Manchester City in what was arguably his best performance in a Tottenham shirt, after putting up top displays in the Champions League against Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund.
Jamie O’Hara claims Xavi Simons is better than Eberechi Eze
Jamie O’Hara believes that Simons is currently above Eberechi Eze in terms of talent and value for money this season.
Simons was definitely not Tottenham’s preferred number ten option this summer, as Eze was their initial target.
However, the Crystal Palace man opted for a move to Arsenal before Spurs, then landed Simons from RB Leipzig.
Speaking on talkSPORT, O’Hara explained that Tottenham only moved for Simons after missing out on Eze, before insisting the Dutchman is now outperforming the Arsenal midfielder.
“Xavi Simons is looking good,” the ex-Spurs star said. “Listen, we signed him because we did not get Eze, right?
“Simons is performing better than Eze. If you are arguing about spending £60 million on a player, Eze has been poor this season for Arsenal.
“He has not done anywhere near enough. Xavi Simons has actually been performing better than him.”
Simons vs Eze: Output and value comparison this season
In terms of output, Eze actually has the upper hand. Simons has played 31 games for Tottenham and scored two goals, providing five assists across three competitions.
The Dutchman has netted once in the top flight and once in the Champions League, with four of his assists coming domestically.
Meanwhile, Eze has scored five goals and provided four assists in 31 appearances for Arsenal, with four of his goals coming in the Premier League, leaving him with more goal contributions in total for his new club compared to Simons.
The Arsenal midfielder has also managed to do so in 200 fewer minutes, after struggling for game time under Mikel Arteta in recent weeks.
However, when it comes to value for money, Simons is the better player given his age, 22, compared to Eze, 27.
The Dutchman is yet to reach his peak and is set to spend more time playing at the highest level for Tottenham, while Eze is getting past his peak years and is barely getting game time for the Gunners despite costing more.