Thomas Frank believes out-of-form striker Xavi Simons is going in the ‘right direction’ as he tries to find his feet with Spurs following a big-money move in the summer transfer window.
Tottenham take on Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night – and Simons will be hoping to open his goal account having failed to find the net wearing the white of a Spurs shirt.
The 22-year-old was recruited for £51.8million after bagging 10 goals in 26 German Bundesliga games for RB Leipzig last season.
But like Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz, who moved to Merseyside from Bayer Leverkusen for a whopping £116million, Simons has struggled to adjust to the pace and physicality of the English Premier League.
Bigger perspective
Frank, however, feels Simons simply needs more time to settle into life in London, telling a press conference ahead of the Monaco match: “A very good player coming into a couple of things – new country, new club, new city.
“You just need to settle in, and it is part of it.
“We are all getting judged every game. But we also need to see the little bit bigger perspective and see it over time.
“I always look for glimpses and bits and pieces we are working at.
“So, for example, Xavi, I think there were some good bits. I worked with him and asked him to be more arriving in the box, which, when I looked back at the game, he did.
“Was there a big eye-catching moment? No, but there were good glimpses. So I think it’s constantly going a little bit in the right direction.”
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No home comforts
Tottenham will arguably be happy to be hitting the road again, with their away form in stark contrast to displays on home soil, where they have only won three of their last 18 Premier League games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
They were undone 2-1 by Aston Villa at the weekend, having beaten Leeds United by the same scoreline at Elland Road at the start of October.
Frank is struggling to find the answer to their home hoodoo, telling Sky Sports: “I know at home you may play in a specific way and other teams are playing in a specific way against you compared to when you go away.
“And then the team opens up a little bit more, so you can hit them a little bit more on the counter, so you don’t have to create everything from scratch and 11 players behind the ball.
Away form very good
“But I just think definitely the away form has been very good in terms of what we said before.
“I think we’ve been extremely good in the foundation in football, in terms of we have a good base in the middle, low block and also very high.
“I think it’s very important that we probably have the most aggressive teams in the high pressure. And I think that’s a big part of why we are also quite good away from home.
“We need to continue against a very good team, but we’re up for that.”
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SportJustSport writers