Xavi Simons
Scout report
If Xavi continues with this, he will definitely reach the top of the world.
I start my talk about the Dutch international, Xavi Simons, with this phrase said by Patrick van Aanholt, the former full-back of Crystal Palace and Sunderland, as there is nothing that expresses the player and what is expected of him in the future more than those words.
The Eindhoven winger has so far participated in 47 matches in various competitions and contributed with 32 goals, and is also competing for the title of top scorer in the Dutch League with 17 of his goals this season and one game before the end of the 2022/2023 season.
He carefully chose a team that would provide the best opportunities for his development, he found the perfect fit in PSV, where he has been able to play regularly and improve his skills.
This scouting report will describe Simons' individual attributes according to 4 corner models, specifically from the PSV Eindhoven match against Ajax Amsterdam in the return leg of the Eredivisie, which ended with a 3-0 win for Simons' comrades.
Player profile:
Name: Xavi Simons
Nationality: Dutch
Born: 21/4/2003
Height: 1,79 m
Main position: left winger
Positions he can play in: Playmaker - Right Wing - Attacker
Preferred foot: right
Market value: 30 m
Overall rating: B+
First: the technical characteristics
1. Attacking 1 on 1
Simons is good in a one-on-one situation if space is available, and this is through his speed and strength that help him in that, but in small spaces he suffers and this is a problem that he needs to develop and we will address that in dribbling and receiving the ball under pressure.
Rating: B
Video: Attacking one-on-one
2. Attacking 1 v 2
In this situation, the player behaves smartly, and instead of taking risks and trying to dribble them, there is a possibility that he will lose the ball, so he searches for space to pass.
Rating: B
Video: Attacking 1 v 2
3. Control
Simons' control of the ball when receiving it needs a lot of development, as many balls are lost due to his weakness in controlling them, and perhaps the reason for this is that he receives the ball with the left foot mostly.
Rating: C
Video: control
4. First touch
Likewise, the first touch of Xavi needs some development, as he has a good idea in his mind that he wants to implement by sending the ball quickly without receiving it, so he passes forward with one touch, but it is not perfect, as it often does not reach a teammate.
Rating: B
Video: First touch
5. Dribbling
Simons is a good and influential player, with the ball in his possession and moving into the attacking areas, and his small touches to the ball, but he must not collide with the players at the end, and he must stand and pass or change his path in the gradient with the ball towards an empty space so as not to lose the ball.
Rating: B
Video: Dribbling
6. Receiving under pressure
For this feature, there are two cases:
space is available, and this is what characterizes Xavi, as he moves in the empty space, and the last case in the video shows that when he passes the ball, he runs to cover the empty space.
Rating: A
Video: Receiving under pressure 1
The second case is the player receiving the ball under pressure, as there is no space around him, but there is a player from the opposing team in front of him and another behind him, the problem here is that a player from the opponent is in front of him, not space, with bad control, the result is that the ball reaches the opponent.
Likewise, receiving air balls is misreceived under pressure, and we need to see this characteristic of him in other matches in order to make sure whether he is good at it or not.
Rating: D
Video: Receiving under pressure 2
7. Pass Range
Most of his passes are short or direct in the direction of the attack to the opponent's goal, even his long balls are perfect.
Rating: B
Video: Pass Range
8. Defensive Positions
Simons performs his defensive tasks to the fullest, as his team needed him in the defensive situation while Ajax attacked, he returns to the defense for help through pressure, or by tackling, or even to increase the number, so that in some shots he is inside the penalty area.
He also runs back as if he were one of the players in the defensive line.
Rating: A
Video: Defensive Positions
Second: tactical characteristics
1. Awareness
The player has great intelligence and awareness that enables him to do something unexpected, as a better effect occurs on the field thanks to his intelligence.
Rating: A
Video: Awareness
2. High pressure
The player puts high pressure on the defenders, disturbing them with his permanent movement and activity without the ball in the last third.
Rating: A
Video: High pressure
3. Quick decision making and reading play
Simons' move to receive the ball into the empty area here is the result of his understanding and reaction speed to anticipate and move in parallel with his teammate passing the ball, as he was able to win a penalty kick after which.
Rating: B
Video: Quick decision making and reading play
4. crosses
Simons did not send any cross ball during the match except once, so following him in more matches is what shows us whether he has this capacity or not.
Rating: B
Video: crosses
Third: physical characteristics
1. Physical strength
The player has a very appropriate physical strength for his age, and this appears in bilateral contacts and ball recovery, and he may gain stronger muscle mass than that in the coming years because his body is capable of increasing muscle.
Rating: B
Video: physical strength
2. Shots
A right-footed kicker, Simons took the penalty kick, his only shot of the match.
Rating: A
Video: shots
2. Tackling
Simons, within one minute, Tuckling twice in the attacking areas, trying to cut and recover the ball, but to no avail.
Rating: D
Video: Tackling
Fourth: the psychological aspect
Calm and focus
Simons enjoys calm even in the shots in which he falls on the ground after violent or intentional interference from the opponent's players, as he does not engage with them and move forward, and this is through what appeared in the match.
Rating: B
Video: Calm
comments:
The player often uses the left foot to receive the ball, and the right foot to pass and shoot, but he knows when to pass with the left foot if necessary, as he did in the assist shot, and this was according to the position of his body and the direction of the pass.
Video: Note
Although Xavi went out in the 84th minute with an injury, he was the one with the highest rating in the match in exchange for his performance and his good influence by scoring a goal and making another.
The most prominent feature of Xavi Simmons is his speed and the ball in his possession, a player with vision, awareness and great intelligence on the field, in addition to his strong personality.
His most prominent defects lie in bad control and the first touch sometimes, in addition to the inability to deal with small spaces, and finally, with the ball in his possession, he collides with the opponent players instead of going into the empty space.
Features that can develop, and defects that can be improved because he is still 20 years old and is able to develop further in the Dutch league by participating mainly with PSV Eindhoven.
Recommendations:
coming years in terms of pace, physical strength and space available behind defenders, but it is better for him to continue one more season at the latest in the Netherlands before considering a new big move.