Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke aren’t the next Harry Kane and Heung-min Son – but Tottenham duo are ‘perfect for each other’

Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke can bring the best out of each other for Tottenham Hotspur.

However, they still have a long way to go if they want to emulate the heroics of club legends Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.

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That is the view of talkSPORT’s Sonny Snelling after the duo combined to great effect against Manchester City.

Simons provided the assist for the first of Solanke’s two goals as Spurs came back from two goals down to rescue a point.

Those strikes took the forward’s tally to four since he returned from ankle surgery last month.

But they have some way to go before being close to the record-breaking partnership of Kane and Son.

In 298 appearances together for Spurs, Kane and Son combined for 58 goals, with one setting up the other to score.

Meanwhile, they scored 310 goals and added 114 assists between them across those matches.

Asked about the potential similarities between the two duos, Snelling told an Inside Spurs panel who appeared to disregard comparisons: “The thing that they (Kane and Son) both had was consistency and I think this is what we can hopefully see from these two.

“Solanke’s got four goals since his return from injury and four really good finishes. The one against Frankfurt, the way he drives it across goal is what we need.”

Simons more like Alli than Son

“The first goal against City, the pass from Xavi Simons is sublime,” Snelling continued. “I see Xavi Simons more like a Dele Alli-type, flair, the skill, dribbling.

“We say how he’s been filling in for (Dejan) Kulusevski and (James) Maddison, he offers something a bit different to them.

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“We’ve seen him get aggressive in the tackle as well so I like his fight.”

Dele Alli won back-to-back PFA Young Player of the Year awards after joining Spurs from MK Dons in 2015.

The former England international scored 28 goals and provided 17 assists in his first two Premier League seasons.

Solanke to the World Cup?

As for Solanke’s qualities and how Simons can complement them, he added: “With Solanke, he’s at that perfect age now, 28.

“That’s prime striker age I feel and he’s probably thinking ‘I’ve had these injuries’, he’s been written off a lot.

“I think now, he’s looking at it. There’s this big conversation about the World Cup, who should be the understudy to Harry Kane?

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“I think Solanke is putting in a great case in that group of the Ollie Watkins of this world. He is a consistent goalscorer. The season before he joined us, 19 Premier League goals.

“That was because he was in the box. Both the goals at the weekend, he pushes (Abdukodir) Khusanov off the ball, beats (Marc) Guehi to it.

“We saw it all last season. He’s selfless on the ball, he wants to bring other people into play.

“They’re just perfect for each other because Xavi improves Dom’s game and Dom improves Xavi’s game. That’s the bare bones of how football should work really.”

Solanke has been tipped to add to his three England caps ahead of this summer’s World Cup after his return to action with Spurs.

The 28-year-old has scored 20 goals in 54 appearances in an injury-disrupted first 18 months in north London.

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As for Simons, the Dutch midfielder joined the club from RB Leipzig in the summer.

He has since provided seven goal contributions, including his assist for Solanke last weekend, in his 29 appearances this season.

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