Before the international break, Tottenham Hotspur’s fast start to the season was stunted at home to Bournemouth, who claimed a 1-0 win down N17.
But fears of that same plague of inconsistency have been pushed aside after an emphatic 3-0 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium, shifting Spurs into second place in the Premier League ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Burnley on Sunday afternoon.
Three wins from four marks an impressive start to life for Thomas Frank, who replaced Ange Postecoglou in the summer after the Australian coach slumped with his side down to a 17th-place finish in the Premier League.
Even the Europa League triumph couldn’t save him, but in spite of all the upheaval – including the shocking exit of Daniel Levy – Tottenham are reshaping into a force to be reckoned with.
The exciting signing of Xavi Simons bears testament to that.
Xavi Simons' Spurs debut
Simons, 22, looked Chelsea-bound for much of the summer transfer window, but Tottenham ended up winning the race and now they boast one of the most exciting playmakers in the business.
Against West Ham, the Netherlands international impressed across his 71 minutes on the field, making the assist for Pape Matar Sarr’s opening goal after the interval, curling a corner in and over the rabble and onto the unmarked Senegalese’s head.
Then the Lilywhites’ task was made easier by Tomas Soucek’s red card after a reckless challenge on Joao Palhinha. Two more goals ensued, and while Simons didn’t land a debut strike for himself, he looked very much at home on the Premier League stage.
Finer displays will follow, but this was very promising indeed, especially when considering he was deployed out wide instead of his natural berth at number ten.
Simons has what it takes to effectively replace the injured James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, maybe even rivalling such stars as being Tottenham’s finest attacking midfielder since the days of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen in their pomp.
Spurs' new version of Dele Alli
In January 2024, Tottenham beat off fierce competition from Barcelona to sign teenage midfielder Lucas Bergvall. In fact, all the pointers previously claimed the Sweden prospect would join La Blaugrana, but he was convinced by the Lilywhites project after a hijack.
An elite talent, Bergvall has since settled into life as a Tottenham senior, and he’s still only 19 years old. In this regard, he’s somewhat like the aforementioned Dele, and might even come to be Frank’s own version of the fallen England sensation.
Dele, now 29, is clubless after being released by Como in Serie A, but it’s not hard to remember those days of old when he played with such rarely-seen gusto, a true wonder-kid after joining Spurs from MK Dons in League One in 2015.
His first three seasons in the Premier League were beyond spectacular, and had he continued in that thread of form throughout his career, Dele would surely be hailed now in conversations similar to that of the division’s greatest.
23/24
0
0 (0)
22/23
2
0 (0)
21/22
10
1 (0)
20/21
15
0 (1)
19/20
25
8 (4)
18/19
25
5 (3)
17/18
36
9 (11)
16/17
37
18 (9)
15/16
33
10 (9)
Bergvall is not the same as Dele, but his athleticism and intelligence and movement and application all bespeak the skill set of a top-level talent.
And against West Ham, the Scandinavian’s goal-and-assist performance carried shades of Dele back in his heyday.
Cristian Romero arced an aerial pass through to Bergvall moments after Soucek’s red card, and the youngster’s success in timing his run and turning the ball beyond the hapless goalkeeper with a precise header underlined his Dele-esque performance.
Because, after all, such headed goals were staples of the Three Lions star’s skills when he was in his prime at Tottenham. Who remembers that performance against Chelsea back in 2017, for example?
But the similarities don’t stop there. Bergvall’s success at such an early age is bringing him into direct comparison with a young Dele, and it’s something Spurs can now use to deepen their connection with the fanbase as this new era gets up and running.
After all, at 19 years and 223 days old, Bergvall is Tottenham’s youngest scorer in the Premier League since… You guessed it, Dele, who was 19 years and 205 days old when he scored in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa in November 2015.
There’s no question that Tottenham landed one of Europe’s prized up-and-coming midfielders when beating Barcelona to his signature, and now, with Frank at the helm, there’s a sense that Bergvall is coming into his own.
He’s a European champion, and he’s now showcased his ability to produce a rounded display in the Premier League, with data from Sofascore revealing that he won five duels, made two tackles and created a key pass against struggling West Ham.
He also completed 100% of his dribbles, demonstrating a progressiveness that will help Tottenham to no end.
Football.london handed him an 8/10 match rating, drawing attention to his neat interplay and clever touches, as well as his intelligent involvement in the build-up to Tottenham’s third, when Van de Ven sealed three excellent points for the north Londoners.
Bergvall remains a young midfielder making his way in the Premier League, but already, he is so accomplished within Tottenham’s squad.
He has featured 50 times for the Londoners and is starting to show in Frank’s system an ability to stand out among his peers, something Dele did with such prodigious aplomb during the early days of his time in a Tottenham shirt.
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