‘Opponents Have Said’ – Tottenham Star’s Key Weakness Clear For Ex-Winger | OneFootball

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Former Netherlands winger Rene van der Gijp thinks that Tottenham Hotspur new boy Xavi Simons just runs with the ball too much.

The north London club looked at signing a quality creative force in the summer transfer window, as the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are out injured.

England international Eberechi Eze was their first choice, but he decided to go to their arch-rivals Arsenal, and quickly after that move, Spurs went for Simons, who was at RB Leipzig.

Tottenham paid a hefty £51.8m for the 22-year-old Dutchman, who spent time at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in his youth days.

Simons started at Spurs with an assist against West Ham United in September, but since then, he is yet to contribute to any goals in all competitions.

Ex-Dutch winger Van der Gijp thinks that the clear issue with Simons is that he is running with the ball too much during games.

Van der Gijp believes Premier League defenders have worked out they can easily pick his pocket when he is running with the ball.

“He just runs too much with the ball”, the 64-year-old was quoted as saying by Dutch outlet Voetbal Primeur.

“Opponents have said, as soon as he starts running with the ball, just run into him. Done.”

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank admitted recently that even though Simons is adapting quickly to life in the Premier League, he will need to up his intensity.

Frank’s side were beaten at home by Chelsea at the weekend and Simons came on as an early substitute, then himself being replaced later in the game by Wilson Odobert.

Tottenham will need Simons to step up in the coming weeks as they bid to make sure they stay near the top of the Premier League table.