Thomas Frank went against his own “rule” when speaking about a player Tottenham tried and failed to sign this month, though there are five viable alternatives linked as the window draws to a close.
Many managers in the modern game refuse to be drawn into speaking about players at other clubs, even those who their side hold confirmed interest in or have even tabled bids for.
But during a press conference on Friday, Frank went against the grain when confirming Tottenham did “everything” they could to bring Antoine Semenyo to north London earlier this window.
Ultimately, Semenyo chose Manchester City who completed a deal worth £64m. At that price point, Semenyo would have become Tottenham’s second most expensive signing in their history, behind only Dominic Solanke (£65m add-ons included).
“The club work relentlessly to try to do the best they can to try to improve the squad, especially Johan (Lange), Fabio (Paritici) and Vinai (Venkatesham), and all the people behind them,” said Frank (via Sky Sports)
“I mean it, we can’t be too obsessed with short-term fixes that don’t help with the long term, because if we don’t do that, then all the hard work we put in now can be limited for the future.
“And that’s not that we don’t badly want short-term success. I can promise that the Lewis family is super committed to this project; they want to do everything.
“And I will go against my rule, hopefully only once, that there’s no doubt it was clear that the club wanted to sign Semenyo.
“They did everything – I think that’s a clear signal that the Lewis family is very committed. That’s a big signing with finances and all that.
“So that’s the quality of players we’re looking for to improve the squad, and if we can’t find that, then it’s definitely better to take the right decisions.
“Not just saying we’re just getting quality players going forward because we all know it’s not that easy, and I’m sure, for whatever reason, we are not able to get another player or players in this window, then for the summer it’s a big summer ahead, and I’m not in doubt we’ll see big improvements there.”
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So… who COULD Tottenham sign?
There’s certainly no shortage of wingers Tottenham have been linked with as the window reaches its conclusion.
None are on the level of Semenyo, however, and it remains to be seen if Tottenham pull the trigger or keep their powder dry as Frank suggested they might.
Reporter Ben Jacobs recently talked up the possibility of Tottenham bidding for West Ham’s £25m-rated Crysencio Summerville. Since then, however, developments on that story have been in short supply.
Sources have informed TEAMtalk that late approaches for Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid) and Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco) are possible, though by no means guaranteed.
Reports in Germany state contact has been made with Bayern Munich to assess Serge Gnabry’s situation.