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'Things take time'- Tottenham newboy urged to make the most of opportunities amid slow start to the season

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Oct 4, 2025 9:23 AM ET

Ex-Spurs scout thinks Xavi Simons is still settling in at Tottenham amid positional changes concerns

Tottenham Hotspur are set to face Leeds United this weekend in what is scheduled to be an early kick-off. The games continue to come thick and fast as we see Thomas Frank’s side taking the field almost every three days. Well, this is their final fixture before October’s international break and they will want to sign off temporarily on a winning note.

Spurs were fortunate to come away with a draw against Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League in midweek. Having fallen 2-0 down, the players did not give up and fought back to earn a draw. Defender Kevin Danso praised the team’s mentality following the comeback at Bodo/Glimt, but the Lilywhites surely cannot make it a habit of falling behind and then coming back into games.

One Tottenham player who is yet to hit the ground running in the Premier League is Xavi Simons. The 22-year-old has endured a slow start to life in N17 following his big-money summer move from RB Leipzig. With the price-tag attached to his transfer, expectations are lofty from the fans. However, the sizzling start that many people predicted for the Netherlands international is yet to be seen, and that has quickly become a topic of discussion.

Bryan King thinks Xavi Simons is experiencing issues settling in at Tottenham

Tottenham were desperate to land a creative midfielder and finally got their man in the form of Xavi Simons. A statement summer signing, majority of the fanbase have called for Frank to deploy Xavi in a central role.

Truly, the Dutchman’s best position is in the No.10 role, but the Spurs boss has largely opted to play him on the left flank. Perhaps, this could be the reason for the young playmaker struggling to impact games in the manner in which he wants to.

However, ex-Spurs scout Bryan King feels the concerns surrounding Simons is down to him experiencing issues with regards to settling in at the club rather than his positioning under Frank.

“I think Simons should just be happy to be playing,” Bryan King exclusively told Tottenham News.

“If he’s in the starting XI, then he hasn’t got much to argue with. If he was a one-footed player and he was playing on the left, then maybe he would be upset, but he isn’t.

“A lot of players now are so versatile that they can cover different positions quite easily. These things tend to take time.

“Sometimes players find it hard to settle, and they want to impress, but things aren’t going their way. When you move to a new club, things take time, both on the pitch and off it.”

Xavi would be better centrally for Spurs

Tottenham fans will want Frank to find a solution in terms of Xavi’s positioning and the exciting attacker to step up and show what he is all about. He has usually played more centrally throughout his career, an area which allows the Netherlands talent to use his quick thinking, creativity and vision to unlock rigid defences and score goals too.

The ex-PSG starlet was actually brought in to fill the void created by the injury absences of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, which is why it is perplexing why Frank has been using him out wide. All in all, if Frank and Spurs want to get the best out of Xavi, he should operate in the hole behind the striker.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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