Mohammed Kudus responds to Xavi Simons’ Tottenham message after night of VAR controversy
Tottenham new signing Xavi Simons shared a passionate message on social media after the midfielder was deemed fortunate to avoid a red card.
Tottenham returned to the Champions League with a narrow 1-0 win over Villarreal on 16 September.
The only goal of the game came from fortunate circumstances as Lucas Bergvall’s cross was diverted into the net by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior.
However, Simons had a poor performance after being started on the left wing by Frank and was believed to be fortunate to avoid a red card.
The Dutchman was already on a booking when he brought Nicolas Pepe down, and former referee Mark Clattenberg claimed Simons was lucky to escape a second yellow card.
However, VAR are unable to intervene for second yellow card offences, so Simons remained on the pitch and avoided dismissal.
Despite this, the playmaker posted on social media to reflect on the performance and the victory in Europe.
Tottenham stars show support for Xavi Simons after incident
Despite the controversy surrounding Simons, he still addressed the supporters after the win on Instagram.
He posted multiple pictures from the victory and captioned his post with: “First win!!! Let’s keep improving, let’s keep enjoying”.
He saw plenty of responses to the message with fellow new signing Kudus commenting with fire emojis, while James Maddison, Bergvall and Djed Spence all liked the message.
Tottenham completed the £51million signing of Simons in the summer and beat competition from Chelsea for his signature.
After missing out on numerous targets, such as Eberechi Eze and Nico Paz staying at Como, Spurs continued their pursuit of an attacking midfielder and swooped in to sign the Dutchman.
He had an impressive two-year stint at RB Leipzig, as he contributed an impressive 46 goals and assists during his time in Germany.
| Club statistics | Xavi Simons |
| Appearances | 78 |
| Goals | 22 |
| Assists | 24 |
Tottenham eye deal for Dennis Cirkin
While the club were busy in the summer window, the hierarchy has continued to stay active ahead of the January window.
Football Insider revealed Tottenham are interested in signing Sunderland left-back Dennis Cirkin, who could become available in the new year.
He has yet to feature for the Black Cats due to injury, and may fall down the pecking order with Reinaldo and Arthur Masuaku coming in – potentially opening the door to an exit.