Tottenham are in talks with Brentford to appoint Thomas Frank as their next manager.
The Brentford boss would replace Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, who was sacked last week after two years in charge.
Frank has enjoyed a successful spell at Brentford, taking over at the club in October 2018 before winning promotion to the Premier League and establishing them in the top flight
But Frank would inherit a unique situation at Spurs, who finished a dreadful 17th in the Premier League last season despite Postecoglou having won the club’s first trophy, the Europa League, in 17 years.
So what should Tottenham fans be expecting from the arrival of Thomas Frank?
Thomas Frank’s sides can adapt
Postecoglou was criticised for a lack of adaptability during his time at Tottenham. He defended his approach on numerous occasions, telling reporters after a 6-3 defeat to Liverpool last season: “I’ve been really patient the last 18 months, answering the same questions over and over again.
“If people want me to change my approach, it’s not going to change. We’re doing it for a reason, we’re doing it because we think it’ll help us be successful.”
Postecoglou showed much more of a willingness to adapt in his side’s run in the Europa League trophy, however, with his side sitting deeper and playing on the counter-attack in the wins against Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-final and Manchester United in the final after taking the lead, while taking fewer risks.
But there was an insistence on having his team play out from the back in nearly all circumstances, even when there were bad injury problems.
Frank will bring more adaptability to Spurs. He has shown on multiple occasions that he will change his formation and style of play depending on who they are playing against.
The Dane has often been known for his physical, high-pressing approach to football, however he has also shown in big games that he can set up in a defensive block to keep the opposition out.
Thomas Frank has also been known to change his formation to suit the players that he currently has. Although he usually operates in a 4-3-3, he has also played a 4-4-2 and 3-4-3. He has also switched between more direct football, and a shorter passing game, depending on the opponent.
He has stated before that his aim is to control games and keep possession, but he will not be reluctant to change if it makes sense.
Operating on a low wage budget
It is no secret that Tottenham will not pay the same amounts in wages as the other clubs in the Premier League big six, but hiring the Brentford manager could help them bridge the gap.
As per FBref, Brentford had the 19th highest annual wage bill in the Premier League last season – only Ipswich Town paid their players less.
Despite paying such low wages, the Dane was able to steer his side to 10th in the table – nine places higher than their wage bill suggests they should have finished.
As manager of Spurs, Frank would have access to more funds but has shown he is able to overachieve based on his side’s wage bill.
Similar recruitment ideas
Tottenham and Brentford have very similar ideas when it comes to recruitment. This has led to the two clubs going for the same players on occasions.
Archie Gray and Brennan Johnson are examples of players that Thomas Frank went as far as putting in bids in excess of £30 million for, but ended up at Tottenham.
The similar approaches to football should allow the 51-year-old not only to bed in quickly, but also be happy to use the players that will already be at his disposal if he gets the job.
The concerns
There are obviously concerns about Frank too. He has shown he is a fine manager but in a fantastic environment at Brentford and one where he had the time to adapt the club to his preferred way of operating.
He also struggled when he first took over at Brentford. In his first ten games as Brentford boss he lost eight games, while at Brondby in Denmark he failed to win any of his first eight matches in charge.
At Spurs, the pressure will be greater and the patience will be less. He will need to hit the ground running. Especially given that many Spurs fans are already disappointed with the decision to sack Postecoglou just a week after winning the Europa League.
He will need a strong start to win over the fanbase. And despite the terrible league campaign, he does inherit a squad from a manager that just won the club a trophy.