This is not the season Xavi Simons was expecting at Tottenham Hotspur

When Tottenham Hotspur shelled out £51.8 million to lure Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig last August, the script seemed obvious: the Dutch prodigy would sprinkle stardust on Champions League nights and propel a depleted midfield in the Premier League. Instead, Wednesday’s round-of-16 second leg against Atlético Madrid risks becoming a footnote in a campaign that has twisted into a relegation battle, leaving Simons himself on the margins.

The 21-year-old arrived with pedigree—he had navigated the Champions League knockout rounds with Leipzig and carried a reputation for fearless creativity. Spurs, shorn of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski for long stretches, craved exactly that. Yet as the club slides toward the lower reaches of the table, Simons has started none of the last three fixtures, watching from the bench as defeats to Crystal Palace and Atlético Madrid, plus a dogged draw at Liverpool, unfolded.

Head coach Igor Tudor’s preference for a muscular 4-4-2 has prioritised the industry of Mathys Tel and Souza on the flanks, leaving Simons—the squad’s most technically gifted available player—waiting. His last start came on 1 March at Fulham, curtailed after an hour. Since then he has mustered 25 minutes of football across two substitute appearances, a dramatic fall from the turn of the year when he was arguably Tottenham’s standout performer under Thomas Frank.

Between December and February, Simons started 11 consecutive league matches, operating chiefly as a No 10. He scored his first Spurs goal in a 2-0 win over Brentford, ran the show against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, and almost single-handedly hauled his side level against Manchester City. His entourage—strength coach, personal trainer, mindset coach and video analyst—underscored a commitment to mastering English football’s physicality, while pre-match inspiration came from Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar score.

But Frank’s sacking on 11 February reset the narrative. Tudor’s opening two fixtures included Simons, yet the winger has since been peripheral. Asked before the Anfield trip why the Dutchman was benched, the Croatian replied he selects “what is best for the club,” praising Simons while omitting him again.

Now the landscape is stark. Sunday’s visit of Nottingham Forest, 16th versus 17th, dwarfs the European encounter in significance. If Tudor opts to rest senior legs against Atlético, Simons could earn a rare start—an opportunity to re-state his case before the relegation six-pointer. Eight league games remain and Spurs need ingenuity; whether Simons supplies it from the pitch or the periphery will shape both his personal trajectory and Tottenham’s fight for survival.