Thomas Frank’s appointment as Tottenham Hotspur boss generated huge excitement amongst the fanbase this summer, with the Dane having the chance to build on the Europa League triumph.
He spent seven years in charge of Brentford before his arrival, often relying upon talents such as Bryan Mbeumo to provide the goods within the final third across the capital.
The Cameroonian international thrived under Frank’s guidance in the Premier League, netting 20 times in the top-flight last season, subsequently making him one of the division’s hottest properties.
After the 51-year-old took charge of the Lilywhites, a real sense of excitement built at the prospect of the Dane bringing the 26-year-old with him in an attempt to sustain the recent European triumph.
However, despite interest in his signature, Mbeumo would move to Manchester United in a £71m transfer - a huge amount of money and potentially a slight overpay.
As a result, the new boss has had to rely on another summer addition and one player already on the books to try and provide the impact he desires within attacking areas.
Kudus & Johnson’s start to the 2025/26 season at Spurs
After missing out on Mbeumo’s signature, Spurs forked out £55m for the services of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United to try and hand the manager his next version of the Cameroonian.
Such a deal may have been an expensive one, but it’s a transfer that has been worth every penny to date, with the Ghanaian already registering one goal and four assists in his first ten outings.
His first goal for the Lilywhites came in the recent triumph over Leeds United, subsequently highlighting his ability to pop up with crucial goals when the side need him most.
Kudus isn’t alone in falling into that category, with teammate Brennan Johnson also able to score key goals for the Lilywhites, as seen by his winner in the Europa League final last campaign.
Whilst he’s already scored three times across all competitions, the Welsh international has failed to start a single league game since the end of August and has rapidly fallen down the pecking order.
The 24-year-old will likely be disappointed with his lack of action, which has potentially been impacted by the arrival of Kudus during the recent transfer window.
Whilst both are hugely talented players, it remains to be seen if any can reach the levels produced by Mbeumo in recent times, but one other star already in the ranks could achieve such a feat, given the similarities in their careers.
The Spurs star who could be Frank’s next Mbeumo
Over the last couple of seasons, Spurs have splashed the cash to try and compete with teams around them, as seen by the respective deals to land Kudus and Johnson.
Around £400m has been spent in recent years to catapult the club to the needed success, with such spending undoubtedly helping them claim European glory back in May.
Various recruitment strategies have been in place over recent times, often signing a mixture of youth talent for the future, or players entering their prime and able to make an immediate impact.
However, players sometimes cross over both categories, as seen by the arrival of attacker Wilson Odobert from Burnley back in the summer of 2024.
A deal for the Frenchman certainly came out of nowhere, with the Lilywhites hierarchy paying £25m for his signature after the Clarets suffered relegation back to the Championship.
Whilst the 20-year-old has only made 30 appearances throughout the injury, he’s still managed to impress in North London and show glimpses of his potential and talents.
Odobert, who’s been dubbed “phenomenal” by one analyst, has already scored three times for the club, two of which came during their Europa League-winning campaign in 2024/25 - already highlighting his ability to produce the goods in key moments.
Whilst his goalscoring tally isn’t as impressive as Mbeumo’s, the similarities are there for everyone to see, with the Frenchman moving to England from Troyes.
The now Man Utd talent did the exact same upon his transfer to Brentford back in the summer of 2019 - subsequently needing time to make a huge impact in England.
He struggled to register double figures in goals for each of his first three top-flight campaigns, but the Bees’ patience was certainly rewarded, as seen by his tallies and fee generated in recent times.
Odobert could do the exact same for the Lilywhites in the years ahead, with the club and fanbase needing to support the winger in his attempts for success in North London.
At just 20, he has bags of time to live up to the potential he arrived with, but it’s crucial that Frank works his magic once again to create another world-class attacker.
Should he get anywhere close to Mbeumo’s level, it would be a sensational piece of business and one that could help the Lilywhites sustain their recent success in Europe or even domestically.