Xavi Simons is the Bundesliga's latest scam

Xavi Simons is quietly joining Tottenham's list of expensive failed signings.

In the early morning of November 2, Chelsea won convincingly 1-0 at Tottenham in round 10 of the Premier League. In the match above, Xavi Simons had an unforgettable moment after being brought on by coach Thomas Frank in the 7th minute, but then withdrawn in the 72nd minute.

A match to forget

The Dutch midfielder was brought on from the bench to replace the injured Lucas Bergvall at the start of the game. Simons had a lacklustre performance and in the 73rd minute, with Spurs looking to press for an equaliser against Chelsea, the £51m signing was taken off to make way for the less established Wilson Odobert.

That reflects manager Thomas Frank's lack of faith in one of Tottenham's most expensive signings this summer, with Spurs fans increasingly frustrated with the 22-year-old's form since joining from RB Leipzig.

Simons has only one assist in all competitions for his new club so far. Many pundits and English football fans believe that Simons has not kept up with the pace of the league, is too slow and indecisive in all situations.

Having shone in the Bundesliga, Simons has struggled since moving to the Premier League. A shocking statistic: Since the start of the season, the Dutch midfielder has only had 7 touches in the opponent's penalty area.

Although coach Thomas Frank has always supported and believed in Simons' progress in the media, the fact that he withdrew this player in the loss to Chelsea says a lot.

Simons is struggling to adapt to the rigors of the Premier League.

Simons has long been known for his skillful dribbling style, skillful in tight spaces. He is well suited to the No. 10 or left-forward role in Tottenham's flexible 4-2-3-1 system. However, the Premier League is much harsher than the Bundesliga, where the intensity, pressure and aggression from opponents can easily overwhelm midfielders who rely on dribbling like Simons.

Lessons from Wirtz and Sancho

While Premier League blockbuster signings have been regularly put on the chopping block – from Manchester United's Antony to Chelsea's Mudryk – Xavi Simons has been under less pressure since the start of the season.

The reason also comes from the low transfer price of this player, only 51 million pounds, far less than other deals. However, the Dutch attacking midfielder continues to show the level of risk when Premier League clubs buy players from Bundesliga.

With a transfer fee of £51 million (including add-ons), Simons is at high risk of becoming a wasted contract, the latest scam from the Bundesliga.

This is not the first time a young talent from the Bundesliga has had difficulty setting foot in the Premier League. Names like Jadon Sancho, Timo Werner and more recently Loïc Badé have all experienced a similar “culture shock” period.

But Simons' case is particularly alarming because he was brought in to replace James Maddison – who is struggling with injury – and to improve the attack under coach Ange Postecoglou.

Instead, Simons became a pale replica of the very things Spurs wanted to eliminate: lack of intensity, lack of explosiveness, poor tackling and easily caught up in the opponent's tempo.

Spurs' board were confident that Simons would be the "perfect blend of Dutch technique and German speed", but the reality showed he was not ready for the intense intensity of English football.

In the context that Florian Wirtz, a name nearly three times more expensive than Simons, is also struggling to adapt to the Premier League, English clubs may need to rethink the "blockbuster" trend from the Bundesliga.

Source: https://znews.vn/xavi-simons-la-cu-lua-moi-nhat-cua-bundesliga-post1599217.html