When Simons was asked if he spoke to the centre-back before his switch to North London, Simons told AD Sportwereld: “Micky van de Ven said, ‘We need you, so come here’. And that’s what happened.”
Van de Ven played a huge part in bringing in his fellow Dutch international, who had the choice between Spurs and Chelsea this summer. Simons arrived from RB Leipzig just before the end of the transfer window for more than £50M and is still adapting to life in the Premier League.
The defender has high hopes for Xavi's impact in the Tottenham side who drew 2-2 with Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night. He revealed that he is supporting him behind the scenes as he makes the switch from the Bundesliga.
"I speak a lot with him but what also helps him a lot is he speaks a lot of languages so he can get on with a lot of players as well.
"I try to help him on and off the pitch with every small detail he asks for. I’m there for him to help him as much as possible.
"He’s a really good player. He can create a lot of special things. I think you saw today he came on and did really well.
"Most of the time he plays you can see the creativity he has on the wing, even if he plays there."
Van de Ven also spoke on his team’s performance and their comeback against the Norwegian side who put up a fight in front of the home crowd.
“From our side, it was a really difficult game,” he said. “We were 2-0 down and it shows our mentality to come back to 2-2 and get a point. Today was not our best performance, of course. We struggled a bit today.”