Thread by @AlexanderBrkr

Mythbusting: Xavi Simons 🇳🇱

"Why hasn't anyone signed Xavi Simons! He's amazing!"

Here's a thread on why I think Xavi Simons hasn't been signed yet. In short:
🔴His weaknesses make him an awkward positional fit
👀But I still really love him!

Profile 📖

No history?

These threads are meant to be digestible, and they've recently been hitting 15,000 characters (sorry). So, in this section, we're not going to delve too much about Simons' background, and just about how he's been used at RB Leipzig.

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Now, the 22-year-old did get an injury last season, so the following words reflect his position over the last two seasons.

RB Leipzig, under Marco Rose (in charge for the majority of Simons' time), have switched between a 4-4-2 and a 3-4-3 system.

Either way, Leipzig want to attack quickly, mainly through short passes, so Simons often leads fast breaks, driving with the ball through the middle. A context that can be replicated at many teams.

But, let's talk about more settled possession 🧐

The former system, the 4-4-2, is definitely the one Simons has played the most football in. He has started as a LM, but really, a LAM. He has a free role to drift across the pitch, both horizontally and vertically.

For example, during early build-up, you might see Simons:
▪️Receive out wide around the halfway line, with a full-back right behind him
▪️ Drift behind the opposition midfield, looking to eventually receive the ball between the lines
▪️ Drop deep, almost like a double pivot, playing a one-two with his centre-back and looking to race into the space he just created behind him
▪️ Or, drifting all the way over to the right! (This is rarer though)

In general, I think you can describe Simons as a ball-to-feet player. He wants to be driving towards defenders, making the final pass or taking a shot from outside of the box. A true number 10, in a way! 🔟

That said, he can do this in wide areas. He's not uncomfortable on the touchline. Wouldn't describe him as a winger though, for reasons we'll get into...

The final point on his profile I'll mention, is that at Leipzig, he's obviously expected to work hard off the ball. At around 5ft7, he isn't the strongest player, so he tends to focus on pressing full-backs.

Basically: behaves like a midfielder in possession, but defends like a winger.

That should be enough preparation to dive into the deep end of the positives!

Positives 🟢

I had to give myself a couple of hours break before writing this, after finishing my Simons watch. I love watching him so, so much - that I knew this would be wayyyy too rose-tinted if I dived in straight away 😂

And, you know what, that was worth it.

Because even Simons' biggest strengths do come with a consistent caveat...

Still, let's start in the pure, positive areas. Agility, balance, body positioning being one. That's a lot of buzzwords, but basically, Simons is just incredibly hard to read when he has the ball.

He can change his body position as fast as anyone I think I've seen, going from "I'm going to cut inside here", to "no I'm running down the line" in an insanely quick time. I've not seen a player in ages do a Cruyff turn as sharply as Simons 🏃‍♂️e

This means he can weave through challenges incredibly easily, like he's working at a different speed to defenders.

It also helps he has this excellent burst of acceleration, and that's not just from a standing start. He'll often be carrying the ball towards goal, then switch into a faster gear to drive through a gap.

This counts for his final action too, as he'll disguise his direction of pass through body position. Shaping to switch it, but reversing it and playing it in behind instead.

Now, another pure positive: movement/receiving ✍️

Simons went to La Masia, and it really shows. He's not just a sharp, skilful player, but a really intelligent one.

A lot of it comes down to scanning. Simons is consistently aware of his passing options, his marker's position, and how much space he has.

Now, throw in the fact he can play clever flicks and backheels, and you have a very dangerous player to allow to receive the ball. He can:
▪️ Draw his marker in and flick it off to a team mate
▪️ Quickly turn and play a forward pass
▪️ Or, and my favourite: drop into to receive, play it back to the passer, spin in behind into the space and receive once more. Pass and move, pass and move.

Whatever the case, everything Simons does is quick. He's a dream in midfield to build combinations, occupy space, pull markers around, etc.

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Okay, we're now moving onto flawed positives. And, 'flawed', is a touch mean.

Basically, Simons has a heavy bias towards using his right foot.

I don't think it's because he's 'bad' on his left foot, he just prefers to use his right for passing, dribbling, and shooting.

I'm not sure I'd describe him as 'one-footed', because he's shown the ability to take a ball in his stride on his weaker foot. But, like I said, he clearly just trusts himself under pressure more on his right foot.

However, this does have knock-on effects for two of his biggest strengths: passing, and dribbling 😅

Let's start on the former, because as I suggested before, Simons is a very intelligent player. His vision is superb, not just for short-range passes but also balls in behind.

And, may I say too, his passing is incredibly satisfying to watch. Not only does he consistently aim it in front of players, making sure they're able to run onto the ball and continue their momentum...But, his weight is nearly *always* superb, never overhitting it or underhitting it ⚽️

There's a range of technique used too. Simons can hit these heavy drives across the pitch, or these cheeky trivelas round the corner of the defender.

However, I think those trivelas too often act as a substitute for a left-footed pass. There have been occasions where Simons is:
1⃣ On the LW
2⃣ Sesko is making a curved run in behind
3⃣ Simons uses the outside of his foot to play the pass
4⃣ The ball falls a little short, not hit with the power a left-footer could have got on the inside of their foot

This is something that holds Simons back compared to more two-footed midfielders. It's minor in the grand scheme of things, because Simons puts up world class expected assists numbers.

But in central areas, you ideally want your midfielder to access all angles. Simons, can't, a lot of the time.

Let's talk about his dribbling, which I think suffers a tad more than his passing. (Still, it's overall a positive 🟢)

Simons is capable of using his left foot for a first touch, but after that, it's alllll right foot for moving the ball forward.

Now, again, Simons can be an excellent dribbler. That agility helps a lot, but more than anything, Simons is just incredibly skilful. So many tricks in his arsenal, and quick reactions. I trust him to dribble through crowds in the middle

However, out wide, he almost never dribbles on the outside. Even though he's good at hiding his intention, ultimately, Simons nearly always wants to cut inside onto his right foot.

It means, in wide areas, he can be a tad predictable. So if you're a team looking for a winger, then you might be put off by Simons' one-footedness.

Now, that said, I do adore him in central areas. His dribble success rate has fallen off a lot this season, and I do think he could protect the ball better. He often doesn't keep himself between ball and defender.

However, I do think much of the decline is related to A). Leipzig being worse last season, leaving Simons with more work to do. B). Simons trying to dribble through central areas more.

This will lead to him losing the ball, but he can make it work. And, when he does, he is capable of driving straight through the heart of a team 😍

Okay, so, let's have a quick recap.
▪️ In terms of dribbling, Simons probably suits central areas more.
▪️ In terms of passing, creative actions, his angles can be a little limited in the middle, and would probably suit a wider position.

Clearly, there's a bit of a clash here. So, let's see if we can determine where Simons would work best by discussing his weaknesses.

Negatives 🔴

Let's say, after reading the last section, you feel Xavi Simons would work best as a midfielder. As a No 10, I'm probably with you, but a lot of teams tend to use midfield three. So, let's ask if Simons could work as the most attacking No 8 🧐

Well, his biggest negative as a player is physicality. The agility and acceleration is top, but Simons can be overwhelmed by strong players.

I think the best way to put it is this: if a player gets their body between Simons and a loose ball, there's almost 0 chance Simons is able to overpower that player and get to the ball first.

He also goes down under challenge/pressure quite easily. This has led him to being one of the most fouled players in Europe - but, at the same time, quite often he's going down and it just results in Leipzig losing possession 🤷‍♂️

Again, this is a point against Simons in the 'midfielder' camp. You ideally want your midfielders to win physical duels, because losing the ball in the middle of the pitch can lead to dangerous counter-attacks. If you can't back Simons to do that, you may look elsewhere.

Now, I should say two things:

🟢 I think Simons works hard defensively, particularly when pressing backwards. He'll challenge, slide tackle from behind.

🟢If you're a smart one, you may have figured out a way to make Simons working in midfield. I ask for patience until the end.

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Anyway, let's swing back to the argument.

"Okay, Simons might not be strong enough to play in my midfield three. I'd like to, instead, play him out wide. Any issues?"

Well, another big one is top speed. Simons is weird, because he's a very, very fast accelerator but, once he gets going, his top speed is a little underwhelming. Against Bayer Leverkusen for example, Jeremie Frimpong ate him up in wide areas. He's obviously rapid, but I saw him get caught by centre-backs too.

This means that Simons can struggle to get away from defenders, even when he's dribbled past them. Which, it doesn't take a genius to figure out, is an issue in wide areas. Lots of teams want their winger to be able to burst past defenders, its where you want your fastest players 🏃‍♂️

Of course, that's not every team. Many will be happy to sacrifice elite speed, if Simons is superb at cutting in and shooting. After all, as we said in the last section, that's what he wants to do anyway!

Well, on the surface, you'd be right. Simons has consistently overperformed xG, often by scoring from range. We also spoke about his creative mind, so cutting in and playing back-post crosses should be a big weapon too, right?

Well, in terms of shooting, Simons has indeed scored goals from outside of the box. But, as you can see in this chart from @mygameplanai , NONE of his goals have come from that zone on the left.

That's because Simons is much more dangerous at striking with his laces, across goal, than bending into the far corner. Personally, I think he struggles to get curl on his shots, even though he doesn't struggle for crosses.

This means, in terms of shooting, Simons is much more dangerous in central areas. Where he's between the posts.

Up close, you also want to give him as much of the goal to aim at as possible. He's a clever finisher, who will pick his corners before striking, often leaving GKs stranded. I think, at LW, he's a bit limited 😕

Meanwhile, in terms of crossing, Simons is surprisingly unreliable. I do think he tends to pick players out before crossing, which is good, but the delivery is inconsistent.

Again, that's sometimes down to him looking to trivela it rather than using his left foot. But more generally, he's at his least-thoughtful in this regard.

For example, I've seen these situations happen a few times:
▪️Sesko is arriving towards the penalty spot
▪️There's a crowded box, so a floated cross is probably best
▪️Simons drives it low
▪️Ending in the GK's hands.

Now, he is still pretty young, so this could improve! But, it's another mark against him as a 'winger'.

Verdict 🧑‍⚖️

Why has no one signed Simons?

I think, based off what we've spoken about, he's a bit of a positionless player. He has few, but relatively significant drawbacks to playing out wide and in the middle. Unless you're a team that uses No 10(s), it can be hard to see where Simons might fit in.

However, I still think he's worth trying to build a team around 👍

Simons contributed to 35 goals in the last two Bundesliga seasons, for goodness sake. The passing, dribbling, shooting - yeah sure, they don't fit easily into certain positions, but they're qualities that can bring so much value to a side.

I think, in theory, he could work well as a LW who comes inside as a 10 to play in a box formation. Pretty similar to how Leipzig play.

In this role, you'd likely get all the central benefits of Simons, and his physical weaknesses shouldn't be too big of a problem in a midfield four.

Then, when defending, you can shift him back out wide, where those weaknesses shouldn't be as big as a problem.