Before Brighton battle Tottenham, Thomas Frank filled in the press about his thoughts on his team for the weekend. As he works more with the group, the goal is to be "add layers" to their flexibility.
‘He’s back on grass’
Richarlison remains upfront in the absence of Dominic Solanke. The striker came off the bench in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain but suffered a setback with the old issue with his ankle.
"The positive thing is that he's back on the grass, he's been there for three, four days and progressing forward, slowly, but forward. It's too early for him at Brighton tomorrow, too early for Doncaster.”
Kota Takai has also been absent from action, and he is almost back after a case of plantar fasciitis.
"He is very close to training with the group - I'm pretty sure he will train with the group on Monday."
Destiny Udogie is in the mix after he picked up a knee injury in preseason against Luton Town. His return to fitness produced a discussion about the three fullbacks at the top of the plans of the manager.
“Destiny has done very well the last two seasons when he's been fully fit. Pedro Porro has been at just an unbelievable level, and Djed Spence just built last year, impressive how he lifted his level, and the way he started the season has been super impressive.”
‘They are a little bit similar’
The Dane declared that Udogie and Spence share traits but also have clear differences on the left.
“Destiny offers his left foot as a left-back. So, some things are a little bit more natural for him in that sense. He and Djed are a little bit similar. They have that fantastic physicality or ability to go all the time up and down. That's a fantastic thing to drive forward. It is a privilege to have good full-backs."
At times, the familiarity of Spence with his right foot has meant he prefers to carry the ball rather than look for the pass from that side of the field. However, he has advantages as a 'wrong-footed' fullback.
“To put it into perspective, Djed gives us something else because when you have a right-footer, like we did with Keane Lewis-Potter last year in Brentford, you can then cut in on your right and you can almost play as a winger sometimes. You can cut in and have the strong foot on the inside.”
‘Our strongest bit is the structure’
Xavi Simons is also settling into life in North London after his £51 million move from RB Leipzig. He has played from the left wing against West Ham and Villarreal is a calculated choice from Frank.
“Last year, it was Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min, James Maddison, Solanke. None of them are available, so it's a completely new front four. Xavi came in late to the picture. Mohamed Kudus came in in pre-season. Dom has not been fully fit. So, we're trying to add those layers game for game.”
As more of a pragmatist than Ange Postecoglou, he is preferring to build the stability of the side.
“Right now, our strongest bit in the team is the structure and the way we defend, which is also a very offensive way of defending with the high pressure, because we win the ball high, we keep initiative.”
Over time, the Dane declared that he is open to mixing and matching players in the ten position.