Tottenham boss Thomas Frank believes Xavi Simons is having the same struggles as Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz.

Both Simons and Wirtz joined from Bundesliga sides this summer in big-money moves, with Spurs signing Simons for £51m from RB Leipzig, while Liverpool splashed £116m on Bayer Leverkusen’s Wirtz.

But both players are yet to score for their new clubs as they have struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League.

Simons, whose only assist came on his debut in the win over West Ham, has the chance to score his first goal for Spurs on Wednesday as they face Monaco in the Champions League, with Frank believing the Dutchman is trending in the “right direction”.

Asked at his pre-match press conference about Simons’ difficulties using the example of Wirtz, Frank replied: “I think that’s a very good question. Also, a very good comparison with Wirtz, who is also a very good player, just like Xavi.

“A very good player coming into a couple of things – new country, new club, new city. You just need to settle in, and it is part of it.

“We are all getting judged every game. But we also need to see the little bit bigger perspective and see it over time.

“I always look for glimpses and bits and pieces we are working at. So, for example, Xavi, I think there were
some good bits. I worked with him and asked him to be more arriving in the box, which, when I looked back at the game, he did.

“Was there a big eye-catching moment? No, but there were good glimpses. So I think it’s constantly going a little bit in the right direction.”

Frank explains stark difference in home and away form

Tottenham face Monaco on the back of Sunday’s home defeat against Aston Villa, which meant Spurs have now won just three of their last 18 Premier League home games.

But their away form has been in stark contrast under Frank, with his side unbeaten on the road in all competitions this season (excluding the UEFA Super Cup defeat to PSG on neutral ground).

Asked by Sky Sports to explain the imbalance between home and away results, Frank replied: “I don’t know exactly. It depends on who you are facing – that can be home and away.

“I know at home you may play in a specific way and other teams are playing in a specific way against you compared to when you go away. And then the team opens up a little bit more, so you can hit them a little bit more on the counter, so you don’t have to create everything from scratch and 11 players behind the ball.

“But I just think definitely the away form has been very good in terms of what we said before. I think we’ve been extremely good in the foundation in football, in terms of we have a good base in the middle, low block and also very high.

“I think it’s very important that we probably have the most aggressive teams in the high pressure. And I think that’s a big part of why we are also quite good away from home. We need to continue tomorrow against a very good team, but we’re up for that.”

Frank confirms Romero and Udogie to miss Monaco game

Tottenham are aiming to remain unbeaten in the Champions League this season on Wednesday, but Frank will be without defenders Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie in Monaco.

Captain Romero missed training on Tuesday morning due to an “abductor strain” after he pulled out in the warm-up of Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa.

Frank said of Romero’s injury at his pre-match press conference: “It’s an abductor strain. We will assess it more this week before we come with any timeframe.”

Asked whether fans should be concerned about the injury, Frank replied: “No, I don’t think so.

“For me, it’s an abductor strain. We’ll assess him this week, and then we’ll know more.”

Spurs will also be without Udogie again after he missed Sunday’s loss to Villa with a knee issue.

Frank said of the left-back: “The latest is that he got that knee irritation after the international duty.

“We are assessing and working very hard to get on top of. We will know more probably day by day or in the next week.”

Dier injured for Spurs reunion with Pogba absent for Monaco

There will be no Tottenham reunion for Eric Dier, with the Monaco defender injured for Wednesday’s clash.

The England international, who made 365 appearances in nine-and-a-half years at Spurs, misses out with a hamstring injury.

Asked by Sky Sports whether Dier was disappointed to miss out on facing his old club, new Monaco boss Sebastien Pocognoli replied: “Actually, it was more general disappointment to be injured because I felt he really wanted to start the journey with me on the weekend. He was really upset with the injury.

“For sure, it is deeply disappointing for him that he misses the game against Tottenham, but we didn’t discuss this.”

Paul Pogba will not make his long-awaited return to football against Tottenham, either.

The ex-Manchester United midfielder has suffered a setback in his comeback, having yet to feature for Monaco since joining in the summer as a free agent.

The France international is training with the squad, confirmed Pocognoli.

“I think the process for Paul is a process to make everything step by step,” the Belgian said. “Yesterday, he trained with the group for the first time under my coaching.

“He was smiling, enjoying himself and interacting with the players, so for me that’s the first step. This step can take days, two or three weeks, and then we can build on this through performance, the consistency.

“So that’s the first step, and I’m very pleased to see him on the pitch.”