Micky van de Ven believes Xavi Simons could be the solution to the creative flatness threatening to undermine Tottenham’s start to the season.
With Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison sustaining long-term injuries and Dominic Solanke undergoing a procedure on his troublesome ankle, Tottenham have started to look a little predictable in forward areas and form has stuttered over the past month. Thomas Frank acknowledged before Spurs’ 2-2 Champions League draw with the Norwegian champions, Bodø/Glimt, on Tuesday that the almost complete change to the front four – with Son Heung-min having left – has created problems.
Simons arrived from RB Leipzig just before the end of the transfer window for more than £50m. He is still adapting, but he set up a goal against West Ham and played a key role coming off the bench in Tottenham’s late comeback in Norway.
“He’s a really good player,” said Van de Ven, who headed Spurs’ first goal. “He can create a lot of special things. I think you saw he came on and did really well. You can see the creativity he has.”
Although Van de Ven, like Simons, has played in the Netherlands and Germany, they have never played against each other, but the defender does know him from the Netherlands national side and clearly feels a responsibility to his compatriot.
“I speak a lot with him,” Van de Ven said, “but what also helps him a lot is he speaks a lot of languages so he can get on with a lot of other players as well. I try to help him on and off the pitch with every small detail he asks for. I’m there for him to help him as much as possible.”
Tottenham’s early-season momentum has slightly stalled in recent weeks, and they have conceded the opening goal in three of their past four games – the exception was Doncaster in the Carabao Cup. Frank was not overly concerned, pointing out the circumstances in each of those matches – against Brighton, Wolves and Bodø/Glimt – were very different. Tuesday was the only one of the three games in which Spurs really looked second-best.
Van de Ven, like his manager, preferred to focus on the resilience Tottenham have shown to battle back and draw on all three occasions. “From our side, it was a really difficult game,” he said. “We were 2-0 down and it shows our mentality to come back to 2-2 and get a point. Today was not our best performance, of course. We struggled a bit.”
With Cristian Romero absent, Van de Ven captained Spurs for the first time and he looks certain to be part of a leadership group that Frank will name on Thursday.
“It was a proud moment to lead the group out in a Champions League game,” he said. “To be honest I went into the game the same as I always do. It’s not like there is some extra pressure on you. But it’s a moment you dream of when you’re a kid.”
