Thomas Frank has confirmed that he held talks with Chelsea while he was still Brentford manager.
The Dane did not get the job in the end and eventually went on to join Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Right now, Spurs are just outside the Champions League places under Frank, while Brentford did terrifically when he was still in charge of them.
Nevertheless, Chelsea have dodged a bullet by not appointing the 52-year-old as their head coach.
Tottenham’s xG proof Chelsea were right not to appoint Thomas Frank
This season, a lot of Tottenham supporters have complained about the style of football that Frank has brought to north London. It has not been the most exciting to watch, and that is reflected in some of their stats.
For example, the Europa League winners’ xG in the Premier League is just 13.18, according to WhoScored. Even West Ham United, who are in the relegation zone, have a higher xG (13.61) than Frank’s side.
Tottenham have still managed to score 19 goals, giving them an xG difference of 4.82. Optimistic Spurs fans will tell you that they have been clinical and put away some very hard chances, showing the quality of the team.
However, outperforming their xG by that much is just not sustainable. Under Frank, they have not created enough good opportunities. It is definitely not the kind of football Chelsea supporters and the club’s owners would have wanted to see at Stamford Bridge.
Of course, Enzo Maresca’s football has also come under scrutiny at times, but Chelsea create opportunities under him and the numbers back that up.
What is Chelsea’s xG under Enzo Maresca?
In contrast to Tottenham, Chelsea are doing quite well in the xG department. In fact, with a total of 22.59, Maresca’s side actually have the highest xG in the Premier League.
Their problem is they are not taking all of their chances, recording an xG difference of -1.59. If Chelsea can fix that, though, the Conference League holders could reach another level. Maresca certainly deserves credit for how dangerous he has made this very young team.
Frank clearly wanted either the Chelsea or Manchester United job, which he also interviewed for.
“Sitting down for interviews with two of the 10 biggest clubs in the world — two hours apart — is pretty unique,” he told TV 2 Sport.
But Maresca is the man for Chelsea. There will be no regrets about bringing the Italian to west London.