Bayern Munich honorary president, Uli Hoeness, has shared how close the Bavarian club came to landing Xavi Simons last summer before Tottenham made their move.There was plenty of excitement among Spurs fans when the Lilywhites paid £52m to land Xavi from RB Leipzig last summer.However, the attacking midfielder has had the sort of impact he would have hoped for in his first Premier League season, although he has shown glimpses of his quality on the ball since the turn of the year.The 22-year-old has not been a mainstay in the Spurs’ starting eleven, managing just one goal and four assists so far in 26 league outings, which is an output he would be disappointed by.Credit: Michael AC Braithwaite / @ac_sports_photoVincent Kompany was desperate to take Xavi Simons to Bayern Munich before Tottenham swoopedUli Hoeness has now revealed that Bayern held serious discussions over making a move for the Netherlands international last summer.The Bundesliga club’s board member explained that Vincent Kompany was very keen to add Xavi to the squad, but revealed that he put his foot down and refused the signing.Hoeness told Sport1 (as relayed by Sport Witness): “I still remember a conversation; Vincent Kompany was at Tegernsee, he drove out there specifically for this, with Christoph Freund. Kompany said, ‘Uli, we need Xavi, we need Xavi, we need Xavi’.“I had ordered an apple pie, or rather, it was already on the table, and I said, ‘Vince, you can have another piece of apple pie, but you’re not getting Xavi’.”Roberto De Zerbi sets a big challenge to Xavi at SpursDe Zerbi has expressed his keenness to play Xavi in his best position at Tottenham, in order to get the best out of the Dutchman.The new Spurs boss admits he wants the 22-year-old to show leadership and demand the ball in difficult situations.De Zerbi has also challenged Xavi to score and assist more if he wants to become a mainstay in Tottenham’s starting eleven.READ MORE: Tottenham in three-horse race to sign another former Juventus sporting directorThe post ‘We need Xavi, we need Xavi, we need Xavi’ – How Tottenham beat Bayern Munich to Simons appeared first on Spurs Web.