How Thomas Frank could set up his Tottenham Hotspur front four to emulate Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa

With Thomas Frank confirmed as Ange Postecoglou's replacement in the Tottenham Hotspur dugout, attention for Spurs now turns to reinforcing the squad as they hope to avoid repeating their disastrous league campaign.

The Londoners finished a shocking 17th in the top flight in 2024-25, and failed to reach the famous milestone 40 points across a dire 38-game stretch that featured 22 defeats - the most outside of the bottom three - and just 11 wins, the joint fewest of any non-relegated side.

That being said, the Australian boss did end Tottenham's 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League final against Manchester United, securing Champions League football in the process.

As the former Brentford manager prepares to embark on his first season in charge of a traditional 'big six' club, he has a new set of attacking options at his disposal, and has also reportedly asked that Spurs compete with the Red Devils for the signature of Bees forward Bryan Mbeumo.

With this in mind, Sports Mole considers how Frank could set up his frontline in 2025-26.

The importance of counter attacks

At the Gtech Community Stadium, fans became accustomed to seeing a stalwart defence that could transition into a counter attack in the blink of an eye, spearheaded by the dynamic duo of Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.

While the latter has not been linked with a move across London, perhaps due to his age, the right-sided Mbeumo could link up with new-signing Mathys Tel on the opposite flank.

Additionally, with speedsters such as Brennan Johnson already at the club, a transition-based approach could suit the existing squad as well.

On the other hand, Brentford would typically rely on counters when facing high-calibre opposition that they were outmatched by in terms of personnel, and Spurs fans may have a hard time adjusting to such a mindset given that they are typically used to watching their team compete at the upper reaches of the table.

A creative fulcrum

Last season also saw the re-emergence of Mikkel Damsgaard at Brentford, and the Danish attacking midfielder's immense creativity, combined with his work rate, made him key to the Bees' season.

Tottenham have two of the most creative players in the division on their books in James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, and the duo were extremely effective under Postecoglou regardless of the side's overall struggles.

That being said, given his commendable defensive contributions, the versatile former Juventus man could take the spot behind Frank's striker next term, with Tel and Johnson - or Mbeumo should he join - out wide.

Playing with a traditional striker?

After Brentford earned promotion, they leaned on the prowess of centre-forward Ivan Toney, whose well-rounded skillset enabled him to both score goals and bring others into the action with slick passing during his time in the Premier League.

However, when the England international was sold to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli for £40m last summer, Frank did not replace him in a like-for-like manner, but instead filled the gap in his frontline by shifting to a 4-2-3-1 formation, moving Wissa into more central zones, and bringing former club-record signing Kevin Schade into the starting XI.

At Spurs, striker Dominic Solanke is yet to hit the heights of his AFC Bournemouth days, but given his similar profile to Toney, perhaps the new manager can get the best out of the £65m man.