Thomas Frank drops hint over Xavi Simons position amid Tottenham creative struggles | OneFootball

Spurs head coach suggests £51.8m could move into more central role in time

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Simons started out wide in the wins over West Ham and Villarreal, with Frank opting to keep Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr in midfield.

The Dutchman was largely quiet against West Ham but there were more promising signs of his partnership with Destiny Udogie in the Champions League on Tuesday, even if Simons was perhaps fortunate to avoid being sent off in the second half when already on a yellow card.

Although results have been largely positive under Frank, Spurs have struggled for large periods to create chances from open play, leading to calls for Simons to be used in the No10 role.

Xavi Simons joined Spurs from RB Leipzig in the summer

Getty Images

Speaking at his press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Brighton, Frank again stated he “sees [Simons] in both positions”.

But, with Spurs' strength currently being their defensive structure, Frank has opted to avoid risking that, particularly with a new-look attack still settling in.

Asked if using Simons out wide was a tactic to help him adapt to English football before moving into a central role, Frank said: “No I also think it's how we let the team grow and develop.

“Where we came from in the summer. I was thinking the other day, I don't think I said it, that last year and the last two seasons, but definitely the last year, it was like [Dejan] Kulusevski, [Heung-min] Son, [James] Maddison, [Dominic] Solanke. None of them is available.

“So it's a completely new front four. Xavi came in late to the picture. Mo [Kudus] came in in pre-season. Dom hasn't been fully fit. We played with Pape and Lucas as the No10. So we're trying to add those layers, you know, game for game.

“And right now, our strongest bit in the team is the structure and I think the way we defend, which is also a very offensive way of defending with the high pressure because we win the ball high, we keep initiative, we can be aggressive and intense.

“And then we are building more into how we can add maybe more offensive players in the future, depending on how players are developing.

“I also need to say that Lucas is doing quite well in the No10 position. Different profile than Xavi, but offers something different. We're going to play a lot of games this season."