Tottenham players will be greeted by a new face when they report back for pre-season. Just over three weeks on from their Europa League triumph, Ange Postecoglou has given way to Thomas Frank, who will hope to translate his gleaming track record at Brentford into an upturn in fortunes for Spurs.
One player who has intimate knowledge about the inner workings of a Frank squad is Bryan Mbeumo. The Cameroon international scored 20 Premier League goals for the Bees last season and is seemingly on his way out of the Gtech Community Stadium, with Tottenham reportedly trying to hijack Manchester United's big-money move for him.
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There's a chance Mbeumo could end up in north London to give Tottenham players a face-to-face heads-up about exactly what it's like to play for Frank. But just in case he opts for Old Trafford instead, Spurs stars can learn from insight that Mbeumo has already put into the public domain.
The 25-year-old was asked about Frank's managerial approach in an interview with Sky Sports late last year. Identifying the weak points in a player's game and striving for continuous improvement are two of the strong points that stuck with him.
"For him there is always something you can do better, in your life in general or in football," Mbeumo said. "You always have some things that are a bit weaker that you can work on and I think Thomas found them well in me.
"He used to be [focused on] the mental part. I used to be very frustrated when it was not going my way - even if I had a good game but I missed a chance, I used to get my head down and lose my focus. That is something I’ve tried to work on."
Whatever Frank did with Mbeumo worked wonders as he enjoyed by far the best individual season of his career in 2024/25. Only Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland managed more Premier League goals than the in-demand Brentford star.
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That scintillating output has allowed Brentford to demand a chunk of cash for his signature. United have seen a £55million offer turned down after Mbeumo reportedly indicated that he was willing to make the move to Old Trafford.
But Frank's move to Spurs has thrown a spanner in the works. Claims of a £70m transfer bid were made on Friday as the north London club look to reunite their new boss with his deadliest attacker.