Thomas Frank makes Xavi Simons claim and admits Tottenham will need to splash transfer cash

Thomas Frank has no doubt that Xavi Simons will become a Tottenham star as the Dutchman prepares to face Chelsea - the team who appeared set to sign him all summer.

The Blues had long been expected to snap up the 22-year-old but needed to sell forward Nicolas Jackson before they could make their move for the Bundesliga star. As that exit hit delays, Spursswooped in to grab the Netherlands international in a £51million deal from RB Leipzig.

Since arriving on the north side of the capital, Xavihas shown glimpses of his quality but with just one assist so far and no goals to his name, the midfielder is yet to fully show the ability that has long marked him out as one of Europe's young stars since his teenage years.

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However, his head coach Frankremains as excited about the playmaker's signing ahead of Saturday's derby with Chelsea as he did when Spurs first made their move for the Dutchman.

"I’m in no doubt that Xavi will perform very well for us," said the Tottenham boss. "That is down to him, me, the team, to everyone to get it done. The one thing you don’t have in football is time, but it will take time. It’s completely natural.

"Sometimes we can’t talk about processes and time, but the reality is you need it, everyone needs it. I’m confident, I’m sure it will happen."

Frank believes though that not everything can be pinned on Xavi with Tottenham having lost three of their most creative players from last season.

"It’s probably too much to put everything on Xavi in terms of when he’s clicking then the team is just free-floating," he said. "When this team was clicking well in the last two seasons it definitely involved, most likely, Maddison, Kulusevski and Son at the same time.

“Dom [Solanke] came to the club last year for the first time, as I remember. So those three on the pitch at the same time gave the team a lift. So that’s why it cannot be on one player, in my opinion, it needs to be on three to four to get the team clicking.

"But I also understand that there are some players who need to add more to get the team free-floating and in that case, Xavi is definitely one of the players that needs to do that.

"He is taking steps forward. He’s getting into the right areas and now it’s just the last decisive pass and action that can make the difference. His fitness is growing, his intensity is growing. He’s come to a country where you need to train with high intensity. It’s a league which plays with high intensity, and I’m asking him to work harder.

"Then he comes into our team where we are finding our way together. Even though he’s quite an experienced 22-year-old, he’s still coming to a new country. I think it's very normal, but I’m sitting down with him, I’m evaluating him and he is taking steps forward."

Frank was asked whether Spurs could see Maddison in action again this season following his anterior cruciate ligament injury in the summer.

"This season? Er.. that I don’t know. The short answer would be maybe. He got the injury on [August 3]. I think we need to get past Christmas to see how quick he is going," he said. "Normally you would say nine months, as I understand it, without me being a doctor. So, let’s see."

Solanke is nearing his return from an ankle injury that has dogged him since the summer and the Spurs boss had told football.london that the England international would return after the upcoming international break as the club look to ensure he stays back for good this time and he won't be thrown back into the action.

"When he will be back, it’s very unlikely that when he’s back for the first game, he will start. That would probably not be the right way to do it," explained the Dane. "I haven’t seen any player do that when they’ve been out for three or four months. Most likely when he’s back, he will come off the bench and then we will take it from there."

Spurs have faced familiar injury problems to last season with unavailable players reaching double figures again and the head coach admitted a club's squad must have the perfect number to allow quality cover while not reaching the high numbers that teams like Chelsea have had in recent seasons.

"I don't know the exact number of players you need to have enough depth. I think you need to have enough robust depth in the squad so for example I don't think it's the right answer to have 30 players, that's way too many, for us to go extreme," he said. "Probably not right to have 18 either. You need to have that perfect number where everyone has a chance and we can also use everyone, that's it, and then plus you’re not too short."

After pumping £100million into the club, Tottenham are set to get further backing from their owners the Lewis family in the coming transfer windows as the Premier League's big boys keep spending around the north London outfit and Frank admitted that the more clubs spend the more success they are likely to have.

"It’s up to us to try to shorten that distance as much as possible but of course it’s evident the more money you use on the squad, the better the chance of success," he said. "But it’s not 100 per cent sure. Can we nail the culture, the way we want to play, how we develop the players and the team, make even more togetherness? Then we’ll be able to get a little bit closer.

"It is the same here [as it was at Brentford] but if you’re at the top as well, it’s the same in that sense. It’s always about out-performing what you have to work with."

Frank has been handed a triple boost ahead of Chelsea's visit on Saturday by the return from injury of captain Cristian Romero, left-back Destiny Udogie and winger Wilson Odobert.

Spurs have struggled in recent seasons to beat the Blues but Frank believes it's now time for that to change and pointed to the biggest derby of all.

"Sometimes there's a little bit of momentum to one team for a small time, then that will change. One of the biggest derbies in the world is El Clasico, Real Madrid-Barcelona," he said. "There's always been times where Madrid or Barcelona was on top, but then it changes to the other team. Hopefully this is a good time for us to change the momentum and get on top."