\u201cHe\u2019s struggling to cope\u201d \u2013 Tottenham player criticised for lacklustre displays as physical weaknesses become evident<\/p>\n
Tottenham Hotspur were desperate to secure a new attacking midfielder in the summer after Morgan Gibbs-White remained at Nottingham Forest and Eberechi Eze opted for a move to Arsenal. As a result, the club\u2019s hierarchy turned their attention to Xavi Simons, completing a high-profile transfer from RB Leipzig.<\/p>\n
His arrival was met with excitement from supporters, who were confident in his talent and enormous potential. Simons had impressed at Leipzig the previous season, registering 11 goals and eight assists across all competitions.<\/p>\n
However, since joining Tottenham, the Dutch youngster has struggled to reproduce that form. With only one assist in ten appearances, questions have been raised about his ability to adapt to the fast-paced and physically demanding nature of the Premier League.<\/p>\n
The English top flight is renowned for its intensity and physical duels, which can be challenging for technically gifted but lighter players like Simons. While his flair and creativity are evident, consistency, endurance, and physical strength are equally valued in England\u2014qualities he has yet to demonstrate fully.<\/p>\n
Reports have begun highlighting these issues, with the Evening Standard noting that Simons \u201cis becoming an uncomfortable problem to solve\u201d for Tottenham.<\/p>\n
Dutch journalist Johan Derksen also offered a candid assessment of the midfielder\u2019s struggles. Speaking on the Groeten uit Grolloo podcast, as cited by Sport Witness, Derksen said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a great player who often showcased his tricks in the Netherlands and performed well in Germany, but in England, the physicality is on another level. You can see that he can\u2019t keep up with the speed of action and is physically weaker. While Tijjani Reijnders doesn\u2019t face that problem and is already one of the leading players at Manchester City.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, a lightweight with good technique could manage well, but technique alone is no longer enough\u2014you also need physical strength at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many fans share Derksen\u2019s viewpoint, acknowledging that Simons has yet to find his rhythm. Despite the slow start, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank continues to show faith in the Dutch midfielder, indicating the club\u2019s belief in his long-term potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cHe\u2019s struggling to cope\u201d \u2013 Tottenham player criticised for lacklustre displays as physical weaknesses become evident Tottenham Hotspur were desperate to secure a new attacking midfielder in the summer after Morgan Gibbs-White remained at Nottingham Forest and Eberechi Eze opted for a move to Arsenal. As a result, the club\u2019s hierarchy turned their attention to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":53237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20251030-101223.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53240,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53236\/revisions\/53240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}