Thomas Frank is fighting for his job at Tottenham Hotspur after a run of just three wins in his last 13 games in all competitions, but a strong January window could make all the difference and TEAMtalk has looked at three signings who could keep the Dane in a job.
Wednesday night’s dramatic late loss at Bournemouth was met by more anger from the club’s away support, with both Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro confronting fans in what is starting to become a toxic atmosphere in north London.
While there needs to be some sympathy for Frank‘s current plight, given the number of players – particularly creative ones – that are sidelined, it’s a results business and the Tottenham boss cannot find any consistency in that regard.
The attacking third of the pitch has become a massive issue, more at home than away in truth, with the absence of the likes of Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and now Mohammed Kudus clear for all to see.
Solanke is back in training, but there’s still no sign of the latter returning to the pitch any time soon, while Kulusevski could be back in mid to late February and Maddison may not play at all this season.
News on Thursday afternoon that Kudus is also sidelined until after the international break in March with a quad injury puts even more stress on Frank’s resources.
With that in mind, Tottenham and Frank need an immediate January jolt by finally replacing former skipper Son Heung-min, which they should have done in the summer, and landing a prolific striker alongside a dominant midfielder.
To that end, we look at three players who our sources have previously revealed are all genuine targets for the winter window, and how adding them now could prolong Frank’s stay and let him build for the future.
DON’T MISS EXCLUSIVE: Tottenham source reveals all on Thomas Frank sack – ‘the board is considering all options’
Morten Hjulmand
Forget his stunning overhead kick on the south coast, as there’s every chance that Tottenham opt not to take up the option to sign Joao Palhinha on a permanent basis this summer.
After a bright start to life in north London, the Portugal international has not been a regular starter under Frank and when he is brought in to partner Rodrigo Bentancur in Spurs’ engine room, it’s a partnership that is ponderous in possession, lacking mobility and seemingly has an aversion to passing the ball forward.
Tottenham need a central midfielder who can dominate games before defensively and with the ball at his feet, and that’s where they need to strike a deal for Frank’s compatriot at Sporting Morten Hjulmand.
The north London outfit were heavily linked with the 26-year-old last summer, while Manchester United and Juventus are also big admirers of the player, whose all-round game is built for the Premier League.
Hjulmand is a destructive force who excels at breaking up play and, while there are some concerns over his lack of elite speed, his excellent positional play and in-game intelligence more than makes up for the slight mobility issues.
He is also a more accurate passer of the ball than both Palhinha (82%) and Bentancur (84.9%), completing 91.3% of his passes in the Portuguese league this season.
A move for Hjulmand in the winter window is likely to cost Tottenham around £70m (€80.6m / $94m), a price which reflects the mid-season sale of a player who remains under contract in Lisbon until the summer of 2028.
Want more breaking transfer lines from original sources? Add TEAMtalk as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.
Christos Tzolis
While this is not a name that many Tottenham fans will be familiar, Tzolis is a quality performer and a natutally left-sided winger who has been on fire this season.
TEAMtalk insider Graeme Bailey recently revealed how the Club Brugges star is hugely respected by Spurs’ analytics and scouting department, with a potential move very much in the works.
The Greece international’s first season in Belgium saw him claim 16 goals and nine assists, and this term he has been even more productive with seven goals and nine assists from 18 starts so far.
We can confirm that Spurs have been watching the attacker on a regular basis and sources have told us that Brugge would demand a club record sale to let the 23-year-old talent leave, which means they want at least €40million (£35m / $47m) for his services.
That sort of fee would at least free up money for a big-money striker move, which we’ll focus on next, but Tzolis is a dynamic attacking threat who would arguably be considerably better than anything Frank has tried on the left flank so far – which isn’t difficult to be fair.
Get the inside story first by joining our TEAMtalk Facebook channel to receive the latest breaking and exclusive news straight into your Messenger inbox.
Samu Aghehowa
Arguably the trickiest of the three moves to pull off, given the asking price and Porto’s reluctance to let him go, but Aghehowa would give Tottenham a presence and threat through the middle that they’ve not had since Harry Kane left.
Richarlison is the club’s leading scorer this season with eight goals but is wildly inconsistent, injury-prone and misses too many chances to be considered an elite No.9 in a team that should be pushing for European football and not being dragged into a potential relegation scrap.
Loanee Randal Kolo Muani is still to score a Premier League goal for Spurs and has been a huge disappointment, with his only two strikes coming when he was almost certainly trying to prove a point against parent club PSG in the Champions League.
As for the return of Dominic Solanke, the wait goes on, although he is now back in training.
Aghehowa, meanwhile, has been banging in goals or fun for Port this season, notching 19 in 25 games in all competitions, including three in his last two Europa League outings.
The 21-year-old Spain international would give Frank a genuine threat through the middle, with his pace, power and finishing ability all on display this season.
Now to the difficult part, though. Tottenham would need to obliterate their transfer record to tempt Porto into a mid-season sale. His current release clause stands at €100m (£86.6m / $116m) and Porto are refusing to sell unless any suitors match it.
The good news for Spurs is that majority shareholders Enic have added £100m to the coffers for January business, while the £35m sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace should mean that there is a significant amount of money to spend on reinforcements for Frank.
The total outlay for the three players mentioned would be in the region of £191m, which would leave a shortfall of £56m, factoring in the Johnson money.
However, Tottenham declared over the summer that funds were in place to add to what is clearly now a squad of players not good enough to compete for a top-four finish anymore.
To that end, let’s see if the club are actually prepared to back Frank and give his side that dominant midfielder they are craving, an actual left winger who can contribute and a striker who can covert his chances on a regular basis.