Thomas Frank thinks Xavi Simons was ‘not 100% in sync’ with one Spurs teammate vs Villarreal

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Xavi Simons made his home debut for Tottenham Hotspur in Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Villarreal.

Tottenham Hotspur are off the mark in the Champions League after beating Villarreal 1-0 on Tuesday night.

Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior quite literally handed Spurs the win, fumbling Lucas Bergvall’s cross into his own net.

Spurs failed to really kick on from there, and a poor second-half display could have cost Thomas Frank’s side, but a win is a win.

• READ MORE: Mark Clattenburg says referee got it completely ‘wrong’ on Xavi Simons incident in Spurs win vs Villarreal

Thomas Frank verdict on Tottenham Hotspur’s Xavi Simons

Tottenham were shaky in the second half and kept giving the ball back to Villarreal under little pressure.

Spurs couldn’t get going after the break, and Xavi Simons certainly wasn’t as threatening in the second half.

New Spurs signing Simons impressed in the first half, posing a major threat to the Villarreal back line while showing real skill in tight areas.

The second half was a different story, and Simons seemed a little frustrated at times, as Tottenham couldn’t find him quickly enough on the left flank.

Simons’ lack of chemistry with left-back Djed Spence was clear, and Frank has now commented on that particular concern.

Speaking to Football London, Frank admitted that Simons and Spence need to work on their relationship on the left flank.

Simons is a new player at Tottenham, and he is still learning about his new teammates, with Spence being chief among them, as the man behind him on the left side.

Frank added that Simons is ‘not 100% in sync’ with Spence at all times, but he did see promising signs against West Ham United.

The Spurs boss is delighted with Pedro Porro and Mohammed Kudus on the right side, and will hope to see Spence and Simons work on their connection.

“Obviously, we are building the offensive structure more and more. Xavi Simons has just come into the club. It’s fair to say he and Djed need a little relationship, of course, to get going,” said Frank.

“On the right side, Pedro and Kudus, they definitely have something going. I think Lucas came over to that side, it looks right. I think on the left side, Xavi and Djed, good against West Ham, but it’s not 100% in sync when maybe it’s not going, as an example. We gave so many times the ball away, where we could have played it more second half, which just happens sometimes.

Tottenham searching for ideal Xavi Simons role

Tottenham fans want to see Simons as a number 10, but he has started as a left-sided winger in his first two Spurs games.

If Simons is going to continue on the left flank, then new England international Spence may not be the ideal man to play behind him.

Both Simons and Spence are right-footers and will have a natural tendency to move inside onto their stronger side.

Frank loves the connection between Porro and Kudus, but that is a combination of a right-footer and a left-footer linking up.

Perhaps natural left-footer Destiny Udogie would be a better fit for Simons on the left side, offering the width and passing angles Simons may need to thrive.

That is something for Frank to consider moving forward, with the Spurs boss still figuring out how to best deploy Simons in the Tottenham starting XI.