Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Xavi Simons, Netherlands, Premier League
Josh Lawless
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Xavi Simons, Netherlands, Premier League
Spurs star Xavi Simons had an impressive Premier League debut on Saturday and he did so with a different nation's flag on his boots.
Simons made his first appearance for Thomas Frank's side since signing in a £51.8 million switch from RB Leipzig, starting in a 3-0 win over West Ham at the London Stadium.
The 22-year-old registered an assist on his Premier League bow, setting up Pape Matar Sarr's opener.
Former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona prospect Simons played off the left wearing the No.7 shirt and dazzled on his debut in English football.
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It will have been a proud moment for Simons and his family - and the midfielder honoured those close to him on his Puma boots.
Simons had the words 'Peggy and Kenza' as a nod to his mother and youngster sister - who were both with him on his special day signing his Spurs contract.
And although he is a Netherlands international, with 29 caps for his country, Simons also pays tribute to his roots with the Suriname flag on his boots.
Simons' father Regillio, a former player and manager, is of Surinamese descent and he still proudly adopts a lot of the culture - eating dishes like bami, saoto soup and rotia.
His late grandmother used to speak to him in Surinamese and he has been to visit members of his family who still live there.
After winning the KNVB Cup final against Ajax in 2023, Simons wrapped the Suriname flag around his neck in the post-match celebrations.
Which players come from Suriname?
"We're from Suriname, a little country but, yeah, my whole family's from there," he told the official Bundesliga website in a wide-ranging interview.
"I'm really proud that my family's from there. I've been there a lot. My grandma talked with us in Surinamese. I can't speak it, but I understand a little bit. My brother can, but I say quite a lot of times to my Mum that I'm really proud that I'm Surinamese. Not a lot of people know that because I play for the Netherlands, but I have Suriname in my heart.
"My family still lives there. You have to go there one time. The food is really good. Everything is good."
The South American country, a former Dutch colony with around 600,000 inhabitants, plays in the Concacaf federation which oversees football in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Dutch legends like Ruud Gullit, Frank Frank Rijkaard, Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink were all born in the country.
Simons is not the only current Dutch footballer with Surinamese heritage as so too does Netherlands skipper Virgil van Dijk, as well as Denzel Dumfries and Gini Wijnaldum.