View: Tottenham flop proves he's not the 'world class' star that ex-Spurs star thought he saw

Xavi Simons’ was once hailed as a talent who was capable of becoming world-class – now, Dutch legend Rafael van der Vaart has gone back on those words on the Tottenham Hotspur man.

During the 2022-23 season, the ex-Tottenham star waxed lyrical about the then 19-year-old when he was firing in the goals and assists at PSV Eindhoven.

While he hadn’t translated his domestic form into European competitions, the Dutchman said it was a treat that the national side were able to call on the youngster – who went on to score 22 goals and add 11 assists in 48 games that campaign.

He said at the time, “Simons has world-class potential. I look at the potential. How good can someone become in the future? With Xavi Simons, everything makes me very happy.”

Now, Van der Vaart has been far less complimentary about Simons amid his struggles at relegation-threatened Tottenham.

Xavi Simons struggling to adapt to the Premier League

During his time at RB Leipzig, Simons was a key player for the German team, scoring 22 goals and contributing 24 assists in 78 matches.

At Tottenham, he has nine goal contributions in 38 games in all competitions. In the Premier League, his numbers make for even worse reading.

Simons cost Tottenham a whopping £51.8million from Leipzig last summer but he hasn’t looked anywhere near that kind of player for the majority of the season.

According to Sofascore, he has created six big chances, his dribble success rate is down at 43 per cent, he loses the ball 11.5 times per game, and his total duels won is at 49 per cent.

He has an average rating in the Premier League this season of 6.86, and compared to his efforts at Leipzig last term (7.58), he is down on goals, assists, and big chances created. At the Bundesliga team, he had an Expected Goals tally of 5.11 but scored 10 times. At Tottenham, his xG is 2.33.

Now, Van der Vaart has laid into the 22-year-old.

“He disappoints me,” he told De Telegraaf. “I had expected much more from him. He wants so badly to show how good he is. That has the opposite effect.

“He was the young talent, and everyone was talking about him. He is still playing a bit like that. At Leipzig, he really had a good spell. Tottenham is nothing at all. After PSV, he also showed it in the Bundesliga.”

Fellow Netherlands legend Ruud Gullit also appears to have more questions than answers with Simons so far.

He added, “He is hyped. I still don’t really know how good he could be.”

Will Roberto De Zerbi help Simons and Tottenham?

Simons has worked under two Tottenham managers this season in Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor but hasn’t really come alive.

The slight Dutchman has seemingly struggled with the pace and physicality of the Premier League and now Roberto De Zerbi has been sworn in at Tottenham, it remains to be seen how Simons will be utilised.

The Italian has just seven games to save Tottenham’s season and spare them from relegation, with Spurs currently just one point and one place above the relegation zone.

The former Marseille and Brighton boss HAS to hit the ground running at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, else the consequences will be dire.

At Brighton, he failed to win any of his first five games before guiding them to Europe for the first time. De Zerbi cannot afford to have such a slow start at Tottenham, though.

He came in mid-season for the Seagulls, whereas at Marseille, the 46-year-old had a pre-season under his belt and made an encouraging start in France. This may well be the greatest test of his managerial career.

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