With Thomas Frank’s appointment now official, consideration shifts in direction of how his Tottenham crew could look.
His 312 video games accountable for Brentford offered some clues in relation to what formations he likes to make use of and the model of play the Dane plans to implement.
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However the actuality for Frank is that the stakes are greater than ever earlier than, particularly with a Champions League marketing campaign on the horizon.
He is additionally coping with gamers of a collectively greater – and dearer – calibre at Tottenham than at Brentford.
So, what can followers count on of Frank’s Spurs?
And, maybe extra intriguingly, how would possibly the crew line up?
For starters, Brentford beneath Frank shared various comparable traits to Tottenham beneath Ange Postecoglou.
They have been attack-minded, with the Bees scoring the fifth-most objectives within the Premier League final season with a powerful tally of 66.
Goalscoring was a constant theme of Frank’s tenure at Brentford because the membership scored 56 and 58 objectives within the two previous high flight campaigns.
Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa have been central to the membership’s goalscoring efforts within the 2024/25 season because the duo netted a staggering 20 and 19 objectives respectively.
However it’s not simply with the ball Brentford have been a power to be reckoned with beneath Frank.
They have been like a rabid junkyard canine with out it.
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In keeping with Opta, Brentford accomplished a staggering 319 excessive turnovers within the league final time period.
It was the sixth-most within the league and just one behind Tottenham, highlighting a standard hyperlink between Frank and Postecoglou’s kinds.
Along with their excessive turnovers, Statmuse ranked Brentford because the crew with the fourth-most ball recoveries accomplished within the ultimate third.
The Bees gained the ball a powerful 1,928 instances within the ultimate third, which was 53 extra recoveries than Tottenham, who have been ranked seventh, made.
In a approach, Tottenham followers ought to count on extra of the identical in relation to watching their gamers be extremely aggressive out of possession beneath Frank.
In terms of how Brentford preferred to assault, the Bees had an inclination to bombard the opposition field with crosses.
Most profitable crosses in 24/25 Premier League
| Membership | Profitable crosses | Share of profitable crosses |
| Fulham | 158 from 671 | 23.6% |
| Bournemouth | 134 from 594 | 22.6% |
| Everton | 115 from 485 | 23.7% |
| Brighton | 114 from 493 | 23.1% |
| Brentford | 113 from 478 | 23.6% |
| Tottenham | 108 from 532 | 20.3% |
| Liverpool | 106 from 474 | 22.4% |
| Newcastle | 104 from 489 | 21.3% |
| Chelsea | 100 from 463 | 21.6% |
Final season, the Bees accomplished 113 crosses, the fifth-most within the Premier League, per Opta.
Tottenham have been just one place behind within the rankings, with 108 profitable crosses.
These statistics level in direction of Frank wanting his crew to play in huge areas earlier than getting the ball in, so a lot might be anticipated from his wingers whereas his full-backs might be anticipated to hitch in on assaults.
Though Frank proved to be a extra pragmatic supervisor than Postecoglou, even when the Australian tweaked his gung-ho method in direction of the tip of his tenure, the Dane’s core ideas are there to see.
Extremely aggressive with out the ball and a bombardment into the field from huge areas.
Now, how would possibly Frank go about his line-up?
All through his time at Brentford, Frank typically used a 3-5-2, 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 formation.
Given he completed the 2024/25 marketing campaign utilizing the 4-2-3-1 line-up it appears logical to proceed that theme, though there’s each probability Frank seems to be to modify issues up as soon as the brand new season rolls round.
In purpose, Guglielmo Vicario stays the primary alternative and there was little reporting a few potential alternative.
Due to this fact, it is protected to count on the Italian will retain his place.
At left-back, Frank’s arrival might unlock Future Udogie.
Underneath Postecoglou, Udogie typically needed to invert right into a midfield function reasonably than keep as a standard left-back.
Thomas Frank’s most-used formations within the Premier League
| Formation | Instances used |
| 3-5-2 | 53 |
| 4-3-3 | 51 |
| 4-2-3-1 | 22 |
| 5-3-2 | 16 |
| 4-4-2 | 4 |
However given Frank’s propensity for getting his gamers to cross the ball typically, it may very well be the right tonic for Udogie to remind followers of his attacking qualities.
Related goes for Pedro Porro, who made the third-most profitable crosses within the league final time period (34) from 133 tried.
At centre-back, Micky van de Ven is the logical alternative however his accomplice is of better intrigue.
Ordinarily it will be Cristian Romero, however given experiences have linked him with a transfer away and the actual fact he curiously timed his farewell publish to Postecoglou lower than an hour after Frank’s arrival, the World Cup winner is not any assure to stay in a Tottenham shirt going into subsequent season.
It is why Kevin Danso is the safer decide to line up alongside Van de Ven, though there could also be scope for Frank to usher in a proper centre-back of his alternative.
For the midfield pivots, Rodrigo Bentancur and Archie Grey might show to be a formidable pairing.
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Grey was linked with a transfer to Brentford earlier than he joined Tottenham, so Frank might be aware of the standard he brings.
He now has key Premier League expertise beneath his belt having been thrown into the deep finish out of necessity by Postecoglou amid the membership’s harm disaster final time period.
As for Bentancur, he presents a chilled presence within the midfield and might preserve the ball circulating whereas additionally providing some wanted chew in challenges.
The attacking three in entrance of them is the place issues get slightly fascinating.
Following Frank’s appointment, talkSPORT understands the membership has stepped up their curiosity in Mbeumo, who performed the perfect soccer of his profession beneath the Dane.
Though Manchester United are additionally in for his signature, the actual fact he already loved a working relationship with Frank might give Tottenham a serious enhance within the Mbeumo sweepstakes.
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Dejan Kulusevski would function because the attacking midfielder, along with his business and guile the precise profile Frank desires from his gamers within the ultimate third.
As for the left-winger, talkSPORT understands Tottenham maintain real curiosity in Manchester Metropolis outcast Jack Grealish.
The 29-year-old would supply one thing utterly totally different to anybody within the Tottenham squad.
Given Metropolis had the longest sequence trip of anybody within the Premier League (15.54 seconds, per Opta), with a sequence being a passage of play for a crew that ends in a defensive motion, stoppage in play or a shot, Grealish’s finest talents have been shackled.
However given Brentford had the sixth-shortest sequence time (9.31 seconds), it reveals Frank desires issues to occur rapidly and that fits Grealish, who grew to become a £100million star in 2021 due to his sensible dribbling expertise that propelled Aston Villa up the sphere and into the ultimate third.
Up high, count on Dominic Solanke to retain his spot as he’ll relish the numerous crosses coming his approach.
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Tottenham followers will not have to attend terribly lengthy to see the seeds of Frank’s tactical plan in motion.
The membership’s first pre-season fixture takes place on July 26 in opposition to Luton City earlier than they journey to Asia for video games in opposition to Arsenal and Newcastle on July 31 and August 3 respectively.
They are going to wrap up preparations for the brand new marketing campaign on August 7 with a pleasant in opposition to Bayern Munich.