Roberto De Zerbi must start Xavi Simons to save Tottenham from relegation
Roberto De Zerbi must rethink his use of £51m signing Xavi Simons to save Tottenham Hotspur from a disastrous Premier League relegation.
The Italian manager took charge of his first Spurs match during Sunday’s tricky trip to Sunderland.
His side slipped into the relegation zone for the first time this season and currently sit two points adrift of safety.
The north London club are now staring at their first exit from the English top flight since 1977.
Tottenham struggle to adapt to new system
The newly appointed head coach deployed his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation at the Stadium of Light.
While the visitors looked more assured in possession, they lacked a clinical cutting edge in the final third.
Simons was restricted to a mere six minutes of normal time at the end of the tight contest.
The Dutch international has struggled to secure regular minutes this season, having also fallen out of favour under predecessors Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.
Why the Dutchman is crucial to survival
Despite a slow adaptation to English football, a remarkable statistic highlights his immense importance to the struggling team.
Tottenham have recorded just 12 victories since the 22-year-old arrived late in the summer transfer window.
Crucially, the dynamic attacking midfielder has started 11 of those 12 crucial triumphs.
De Zerbi acknowledged the youngster’s ability before the Sunderland fixture, describing him as a major talent.
However, the manager blamed an injury to defender Cristian Romero for delaying his late substitution.
I changed three players, then after Romero’s injury there was on the pitch Kolo Muani and Udogie.
I didn’t know when Udogie could finish. Without Romero’s injury, Xavi would have come on before.
Time running out for top-flight rescue
The former Paris St-Germain prospect has averaged just over an hour on the pitch across his 26 league appearances this term.
He was also suspended for three games following a straight red card against Liverpool earlier in the campaign.
With fixtures running out rapidly, Tottenham cannot afford to leave their most influential summer investment sitting on the bench.
If the Lilywhites are to preserve their Premier League status, Simons must quickly become the focal point of this new era.
