James Maddison reveals his first impressions of Xavi Simons as a Tottenham creator

8 hours ago 4

James Maddison has revealed what he has noticed from Xavi Simons in his first few months at Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs signed Xavi for £51m from RB Leipzig in the final days of the transfer window, with the attacking midfielder being bought in to fill the creative void left by the injuries to James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski.

However, the 22-year-old has found it difficult to adapt to the pace and power of the Premier League and has attracted plenty of criticism.

In fact, some pundits have already written off Xavi as a flop, but the attacking midfielder silenced those criticisms with a statement performance in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Brentford.

James Maddison reveals Xavi Simons has been working very hard at Tottenham

The 22-year-old netted his first goal for the Lilywhites with a brilliant run and finish on Saturday, and Maddison believes that the goal could unlock a new level in Xavi.

The England international revealed that the former Leipzig man has put in plenty of hard work in training from the day he walked through the door at Hotspur Way.

When asked what the goal against Brentford will do for Xavi’s confidence, Maddison told Sky Sports: “It will be brilliant. You know what it’s like when you first go into a team that as an attacking player, that first goal and that first kind of big performance just gives you that new lease of life, almost, that bit of confidence, that little bit of strut in your step that you might have needed after having a little bit of a drought at the start.

“There’s no doubting Xavi’s quality, and I’m really happy for him, because he’s been working ever so hard. He’s not a player who has been expecting it all just to happen.

“He’s training hard, he’s working hard, he’s doing the hard yards for the team. He’s putting the tackles in like you just seen, which led to the goal.

I’m really happy for him, and hopefully he can kick on and then go on a little scoring streak.”

Xavi makes a telling admission after scoring against Brentford

Speaking after Tottenham’s win against Keith Andrews’ men, Xavi admits he was hungry to play and showcase his quality after being left out of the starting line-up for the previous four games.

The Netherlands international also confessed that he has had a few challenges in his first few months in England, including settling into a new country.

However, he insisted that he has never lost faith that he will be able to show his quality on the pitch.