Thomas Frank is in for a busy summer as he takes the reins at Tottenham
The Dane is the man tasked with picking up the pieces after a woeful Premier League campaign last time out in N17, with Daniel Levy keen to place his trust in the former Brentford boss’ abilities.
Frank will naturally be keen to bring in plenty of his own players as he looks to craft a squad that is capable of realising Spurs’ ambitions as a club.
However, he will also likely face a series of ruthless decisions regarding some of the squad players at the club, and those decisions look unlikely to extend to just the established players.
Kota Takai tipped for immediate loan move
Kota Takai looks set to be one of the first new arrivals of the Frank era, with Spurs widely reported to have agreed a fee of £5million to sign the Japanese centre back prospect.
MORE SPURS STORIES
Spurs’ likely new pick-up has been branded as an “elite” defender for his age, despite the fact that he currently has no experience in senior football outside his homeland.
That could be telling over the next few weeks and months, as the youngster begins to make his way in North London.
The Lilywhites will be delighted to have seemingly secured a move for a player who could have a big future ahead of him, but his arrival does present an immediate dilemma for Frank.
Kenta Hagiwara, who co-owns The Asian Football Show podcast, feels Frank may be better served by immediately sending Takai out on loan to gain experience.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, the Asian football expert suggested that it may be best for Takai to spend a year developing in another European league.
“The reports are that Takai is expected to be a first-team player for Tottenham this upcoming season,” he said. “That’s not that surprising from Frank, after Spurs dealt with so many injuries in the backline last term.
“Although I do think he would benefit from a loan spell. The pace of play and physicality between J. League and the Premier League are quite different, and I have concerns that it’ll take time for a young player like Takai to adapt to the Premier League.
“That’s just true of any player making such a drastic jump in level of competition, not directly a reflection on Takai as a player.
“He needs a year or two to be loaned out to other European [or English] leagues to better develop himself as a player. I think that’s the best-case scenario for his development.”
A loan move could benefit Takai further down the line
Takai could have a long and exciting future ahead of him at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, if everything goes to plan.
However, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him follow the same path as many unproven youngsters before him, and head out on loan elsewhere in Europe to gain further experience.
Integrating youngsters into the high pressure environment of the Premier League can be a hugely difficult task, especially with defenders, and it can sometimes be beneficial for clubs to keep their starlets away from that added scrutiny for as long as possible.
This could be the case for Takai, given that he is moving to an entirely different culture and environment to what he has experienced in his career so far.
A year spent in one of the other European leagues could help him acclimatise to that change, and come back next summer in a position where he is ready to play a regular part in Spurs’ first-team squad.