Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has lavished praise on a player he's used quite sparingly recently, following a run of impressive performances in training lately.
Thomas Frank dealt a creativity concern at Tottenham
Spurs' recent run of games all carry a recurring theme — that being the Lilywhites' shortage of creative spark.
As a result, concerns surround the team’s ingenuity, or lack there of, in the final third — with a series of underwhelming attacking performances ultimately exposing an absence of real inventiveness for the most part.
From a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa last weekend to a scrappy 2-1 win at Leeds prior to the international break, alongside their dramatic 1-1 draw at home to Wolves and a disappointing stalemate away to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League, it is quite fair to say that Frank's side have struggled to consistently unlock defenses.
It took late comebacks to rescue a point against Bodo/Glimt and bottom Premier League side Wolves, which was a real worry for Frank, while two deflected efforts from Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus nicked a scrappy victory at Elland Road.
Against Villa, despite Rodrigo Bentancur getting the home side off to a flying start, Spurs appeared to mostly sit on that lead and didn't create many clear-cut openings thereafter.
This gifted Unai Emery's side a route back into the game, with two wonder goals from Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia condemning Frank to Spurs' first defeat in all competitions since their 1-0 loss to Bournemouth.
Summer signing Xavi Simons, who came from RB Leipzig with high expectations, has struggled to impose his attacking flair in games, and this has led to criticism aimed at the Dutchman as he continues adapting to a new country and the toughest league in world football.
Frank, speaking in his pre-Monaco press conference, moved to defend Simons once again.
"Xavi, I think there were some good bits that we worked with him and I asked him to be more arriving in the box, which when I looked the game back, he did," Frank told reporters.
"Was there the big eye-catching moment? No, but there were good glimpses. So, I think it's constantly going a little bit in the right direction.”
The manager also made an interesting claim about last season's top scorer, Brennan Johnson, who's largely been limited to substitute appearances recently.
The Wales international finished 2024/2025 with 18 goals and seven assists in all competitions, including that Europa League final-winning strike against Man United — arguably the most vital contribution of Tottenham's recent history.
Thomas Frank says Brennan Johnson has scored for fun in training lately
Despite this, Johnson has been reduced to brief substitute cameos in each of Tottenham's last five Premier League outings, but did start in their last European outing against Bodo/Glimt.
Kudus, who's impressed as one of Spurs' star players of the campaign so far, is largely responsible for keeping Johnson glued to the bench.
However, Frank is adamant that the 24-year-old remains a "very important" player, and says that Johnson has been scoring a lot of goals in Tottenham training lately as he bids to battle his way back into the team.
"Brennan is a very important player," said Frank, via football.london.
"He's fantastic, important goal last season. Also the top scorer, I think, in the club last year. He also started the season well. He has scored two good goals. So, again, probably a little bit down to how we put the players out that make it fit.
"Brennan has trained very well the last couple of weeks, doing what he's doing very well, scoring goals in training, which is important to keep, showing that I'm not taking the right decision if he's not in the team. I think Brennan can play both to the left and to the right, as we said before.
"Of course, Mohamed Kudus has done very well on the right, for example. Then on the left, I actually think Wilson has done well. So it's just a little bit of competition. Brennan just needs to keep going. He will get his games."
Johnson’s pace and clinical finishing offer Spurs a valuable attacking option, especially when the team needs fresh energy.
If he continues to impress in training and seizes opportunities on the pitch, Johnson has the potential to become a key figure in Tottenham’s squad once again.
His past numbers reflect how the ex-Nottingham Forest sensation could still have a key role to play for Frank, with only Dominic Solanke and Tel averaging more shots per 90 for Tottenham in the league last season.
James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are still yet to return from their long-term injuries as well, and once they do, Spurs will surely be a real force going forward, with Randal Kolo Muani also getting up to speed and Solanke poised to return soon.