Two Tottenham stars are in no doubt over where they stand with new Spurs boss Thomas Frank after he previously tried to sign them for Brentford. Frank’s appointment as Spurs’ new head coach was announced on Thursday.
The Danish tactician has taken over from Ange Postecoglou, signing a three-year contract after Daniel Levy activated his £10million release clause. Frank had earned a reputation for his impressive work at the Gtech Community Stadium over nearly seven years, with some of his assistant coaches now joining him in his move to north London. As he looks ahead to competing in the Champions League, Frank will be keen to quickly identify his key players and bring in new signings of his own choosing. And the 51-year-old will be delighted to work alongside two players he nearly signed for Brentford in recent years.
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Frank and Brentford had shown long-term interest in Brennan Johnson during his stint with Nottingham Forest in the Championship. Several bids were initially turned down by Forest in the January 2022 transfer window.
Brentford made another strong push to sign Johnson in the summer of 2023, with Frank viewing the then-22-year-old as a crucial part of his plans for the upcoming 2023/24 season following Ivan Toney’s eight-month ban.
The west London club reportedly had a £40m offer turned down, having fallen short of Forest's £50m valuation. Spurs eventually completed a deal for Johnson, paying £47.5m to the east Midlands side before the summer transfer deadline.
Once again, the Lilywhites managed to outmanoeuvre Frank's Brentford last summer by securing the signature of Archie Gray from Championship side Leeds United. The versatile teenager was on the brink of joining the Bees in a £40m move before it fell through, as Leeds were dissatisfied with the structure of the deal Brentford proposed.
That allowed Tottenham to swoop in and snatch Gray from right under Frank's nose. The 19-year-old featured prominently in the 2024/25 season, making 46 appearances across all competitions, with most of those games played at centre-back.
Gray will be hoping to progress even further from August onwards under Frank, who will now oversee his development - a year after missing out on him. Frank is also eager to reunite with his star player, Bryan Mbeumo, from his time at Brentford, with Tottenham holding initial discussions about a deal for the Cameroonian forward with their London rivals.
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Mbeumo is one of the most in-demand Premier League players this summer following an outstanding season at Brentford, where he netted 20 top-flight goals and provided seven assists. After enjoying his most prolific campaign to date under Frank, the 25-year-old has been heavily linked with Manchester United in recent weeks.
Mbeumo joined Brentford from French club Troyes six years ago for a then club record fee of £5.8m. Fast forward to this transfer window and he's the subject of huge bids from both the Red Devils and Spurs. United have already had a bid of around £55m turned down by Brentford.
And the Mirror reports that a first official step has been made towards reuniting Mbeumo and Frank, with Spurs technical director Johan Lange offering up £65m plus £5m in add-ons. However, Sky Sports reported that Mbeumo is still favouring a move to United, who are expected to return with a new offer for the Brentford star.