Thomas Frank has been named Tottenham Hotspur’s new head coach, replacing Ange Postecoglou.
Under Postecoglou, Tottenham overhauled their squad with a focus on bringing youth to north London. While they finished 17th last season, their worst-ever final league position in the Premier League, many of those young talents flourished under the Australian.
Now Frank, who has an impressive track record in improving players, is charged with helping these promising stars fulfil their potential while bringing senior players back to form.
The Athletic assesses the squad Frank will inherit and who may suit his management style…
Goalkeepers
Guglielmo Vicario is Tottenham’s established starter between the sticks, and it would be a surprise to see Frank make an early change in that position.
At Brentford, goalkeepers under Frank often played direct and long into the forwards, something Vicario was not typically asked to do under Postecoglou. Last season, only Jordan Pickford (942) played more long passes than Brentford ’keeper Mark Flekken (825), whereas Vicario played the fewest (173) of goalkeepers to make 14 or more Premier League appearances in 2024-25.
Should Vicario struggle to adapt to Frank’s demands, perhaps it could open a door for Antonin Kinsky, who was not just an efficient distributor at Slavia Prague in his native Czech Republic but also an extremely varied one.
Still, given Vicario has been a guaranteed starter since signing from Empoli in 2023, it would be a surprise to see Frank move on from the Italian before handing him ample opportunity to prove his capabilities in the Premier League.
Centre-backs
At Tottenham, Frank will inherit one of the best central defensive partnerships in the Premier League with plenty of cover behind them.
Under Postecoglou, Micky van de Ven‘s world-class recovery pace was arguably his most important attribute in an aggressively high line. But with Frank, who is unashamedly more pragmatic than the Australian, Spurs may not be quite so front-footed. Van de Ven may have to be more precise and patient with his defensive decisions.
While patience isn’t always Cristian Romero‘s strong suit, his ability to defend the box aerially and progress the ball with incisive line-splitting passes will be valued under Frank as he adapts his tactics to suit a club of Spurs’ talent. He may not be relied on to progress the ball as much as he was under Postecoglou, but it would be remiss of Frank not to use Romero’s unique passing ability from central defence.
Given that Spurs hope to compete well in the Champions League and Premier League next season, there should be plenty of opportunities for Kevin Danso to play a significant number of minutes. Danso’s ability to drive the ball forward is an attribute Frank likes from central defenders, and his tendency to play on the front foot and engage with attackers complements Van de Ven’s preference to play a covering role.
Radu Dragusin, who has occasionally looked uncomfortable on the ball in defence, is not a perfect fit for Frank, who may be looking for someone to help break lines from the back. However, the Romanian is an accomplished defender with the athleticism to be a rotational option for Van de Ven. Slightly lower down the pecking order, Ben Davies may not play significant minutes under Frank but can perform a similar role to Ben Mee and Mathias ‘Zanka’ Jorgensen at Brentford over the last few years.
Full-backs
Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro were often used as inverted full-backs under Postecoglou, coming into midfield and helping to create an overload in central areas to control possession. Frank has generally asked his full-backs to play in a more orthodox fashion and help with attacks by providing width.
Porro appears to be an outstanding fit in this regard, as his ability to create chances from wide areas is one of his standout attributes. Should Frank also find a way to maximise his creative talents from inside half-space positions and goalscoring qualities, Porro looks set to be an integral player under the Dane. Udogie, an intelligent defender, also appears a good fit for Frank as he attempts to carry over his impressive defensive record from Brentford to Spurs.
Frank’s tactical outlook and personal qualities should also be a boost for Djed Spence, who starred for Spurs over the winter period before losing his starting place in the season’s final months. Under Frank, who boosts confidence with day-to-day interactions with players, it would not be surprising to see Spence reach new levels at Tottenham next season.
Midfielders
One of the big winners of Frank’s appointment could be Archie Gray, a player Frank was desperate to sign at Brentford before the 19-year-old left Leeds United for Tottenham last summer. Gray was considered a “generational talent” in defensive midfield by Brentford’s recruitment department before the transfer, so it would make sense for Frank to emphasise his development in that position. While it may be a big ask to expect him to star in that role immediately next season, given how highly Frank’s previous club rated him, his long-term development could be geared towards settling as a No 6.
Frank constructed his midfield trio at Brentford similarly to Postecoglou: one destructive defensive midfielder, an energetic box-to-box No 8 and an advanced playmaker. Currently, the box-to-box role is most likely to be occupied by Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr or Lucas Bergvall, though they are all capable of playing deeper or more advanced.
Vitaly Janelt’s industry in midfield was an essential part of Brentford’s success under Frank, and he shares similar characteristics to Sarr, who demonstrated his energy and quality in the Europa League final win against Manchester United. Frank, who started his career in Denmark’s youth teams, is a developer of young talent, and he will surely see Sarr, 22, as a project with the potential to become an elite player in his position.
The same can be said for Bergvall, who was arguably Tottenham’s outstanding player of 2025 before suffering an ankle injury ahead of the Europa League semi-final. Frank may see Bergvall’s development as an attacking midfielder, but his physical capabilities and quality are ideal for the No 8 position as the incoming coach looks to develop his style with more technically gifted players.
Bissouma’s energy should also suit this position nicely, though he has a year left on his contract with an uncertain future. Bentancur, Bissouma’s midfield partner in the latter stages of the Europa League, appears a safe bet to start the season’s opening weeks in defensive midfield or at No 8 as Frank will look to lean on experienced heads, subject to transfer activity.
Attacking midfielders
While Frank has placed significant emphasis on structure in developing Brentford into a stable top-flight outfit, he has made concessions for outstanding creative talents. This season, he has gifted Mikkel Damsgaard the freedom to roam from his position and create opportunities for attackers, leading to comfortably his best season since signing for the west London club in 2022.
Should he offer the same privileges to James Maddison, the 28-year-old has the talent to be a constant match-winner for Spurs from that position and produce the level of performance he did in the early months of Postecoglou’s reign. Still, while Maddison has the quality to be the best player on a Premier League pitch on any given weekend, his form at Spurs and Leicester City previously has been streaky. But Frank, who dropped Toney towards the end of the 2023-24 season for poor form, is unafraid to bench underperforming stars.
Dejan Kulusevski, who starred in place of Maddison in attacking midfield before the turn of the year, will provide tough competition for the England international in that spot. The Sweden international can play on the right wing, but given Frank’s previous affection for Brennan Johnson and the development of Bryan Mbeumo into a goalscoring forward from that position, we may be more likely to see him as a No 10 moving forward.
Wingers
Frank has an impressive track record in improving wingers at Brentford, with Said Benrahma, Yoane Wissa, Kevin Schade, and Mbeumo all reaching new levels under the Dane. Tottenham have an exciting young core of wide attackers, and under Frank’s guidance, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore and Mathys Tel, who is contracted to Bayern Munich but could move permanently to Tottenham this summer, could all make significant strides towards reaching their potential.
Brennan Johnson could be another player who kicks on under Frank after a strong season in north London, where he finished as the club’s top scorer and grabbed the winner in the Europa League final. Frank courted Johnson heavily over several transfer windows, though he saw the Welsh forward as more of a 1v1 winger, as opposed to the goalscorer-type winger he developed into under Postecoglou. Mbeumo followed a similar arc, so Frank may continue developing him as a goalscorer rather than the traditional winger he previously envisioned.
Club captain Son Heung-min is arguably the most interesting player in the group, with his long-term future uncertain. Son has one year left on his contract and, after an indifferent season in north London last term, there is speculation that he may be on the move this summer.
If he stays in north London, it will be interesting to see if he retains the armband handed to him by Postecoglou, particularly if his on-the-pitch role is diminished. At Brentford, Christian Norgaard and Pontus Jansson wore the armband under Frank, traditional heart-on-the-sleeve ‘leader’ types. Son, however, is more mild-mannered and leads by example.
Still, as well as developing young talents, Frank has improved more senior players at Brentford. Should Son remain in north London, his new coach will look to station him in goalscoring positions where he can maximise his world-class finishing ability. The South Korean may not have the blistering pace he had three or four years ago, but given his experience and quality in the box, there could still be a prominent role for him.
Strikers
Dominic Solanke will enter his second season as Tottenham’s primary striker, and fans should be encouraged about his potential fit under Frank. Solanke profiles as a combination of England team-mates Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins, who both improved considerably as centre-forwards under their previous Brentford coach.
Like Toney, Solanke is a perfect outlet for the long balls Frank likes his goalkeeper to play. The 27-year-old is not just physically capable of competing with centre-backs on duels, but he has the technical quality to keep the ball and bring team-mates into play. Similarly to Watkins, Solanke can also run the channels and occupy defenders with his energy and incessant running. Given his proven track record at improving strikers, Solanke could be the biggest winner of all from Frank’s appointment.
While he has not reached his potential consistently in north London, Richarlison has many of the same qualities out of possession. He ended the 2024-25 season well, scoring two goals from his final six league appearances (one start) and could be in line for a breakout season as Spurs look to compete in the Premier League and Europe. Like Solanke, Frank may advise Richarlison to be more selfish and concentrate on getting into the box and letting others create.
Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images