The Sun

THOMAS FRANK has his unveiling as Tottenham Hotspur boss on Friday - and he is sure to be grilled on a number of hot topics.

From transfers in, to transfers out, to his upcoming Champions League campaign and becoming Daniel Levy’s 14th permanent manager, the Dane will not be short of questions to answer.

Here, SunSport takes a look at ten burning issues the 51-year-old may have to address...

TOTTENHAM looked to have pulled off a stunning coup when they surprisingly moved for Nottingham Forest and England star Morgan Gibbs-White last week.

It had been thought they had triggered a secret £60million release clause and on Friday, the 25-year-old was even expected to undergo a medical at their Hotspur Way training ground.

Then all hell broke loose.

Furious Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis cut all communication with Spurs and issued legal complaints to the North Londoners and Gibbs-White’s representatives.

Forest’s objections cited breach of confidentiality over the release clause and effectively tapping-up the player as they had not given permission to speak with him.

The fact that Gibbs-White is not a Spurs player yet raises questions over whether Tottenham have met all the conditions of the release clause.

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His move has been left in limbo with Gibbs-White training with Forest in pre-season as normal.

Frank is known to be particularly keen on the four-cap England man, admiring his dynamism in the No10 position and his versatility.

Perhaps he can shed some light on the current state of play involving the transfer.

CRISTIAN ROMERO is a World Cup winner and a massive influence in the Tottenham dressing room, especially with the South American contingent.

He struggled with injury for a lot of last season but was a huge reason why Spurs went all the way in the Europa League.

However, the Argentine made plenty of noises last season to suggest he was not entirely happy in North London.

He reposted on X a damning claim that Spurs had not put on a chartered flight for him coming back from international duty, while he also publicly criticised the club’s lack of spending compared to their rivals.

Most notable was a bombshell interview he himself had arranged late on in April where he claimed he wanted to play in La Liga one day, amid strong interest from Atletico Madrid.

Romero has two years left on his contract and Spurs will not sell the £60million-rated defender on the cheap.

Hearing Frank’s thoughts on the situation will be fascinating.

SON HEUNG-MIN is understood to be open to calling time on his decade at the club this summer.

Having finally won a trophy after all that time, there is an understandable argument that this is a good moment to go out on a high.

But whether it happens or not remains to be seen.

LAFC are very keen and Son is believed to like the idea of going to America, more so than Saudi Arabia, but a move Stateside seems unlikely right now.

A switch to anywhere seems off the cards before Tottenham’s tour to Seoul at the start of August at the very least - barring a stratospheric offer.

Son, now 33, has one year left remaining on his contract but given the commercial revenue he brings in from being a godlike figure in South Korea, Spurs certainly will not let him go cheaply.

Frank is well-stocked out wide, particularly following the £55m arrival of Mohammed Kudus, albeit his best position is more on the right side compared to Son’s left.

The Dane usually lives up to his last name in how honest he can be when speaking publicly - perhaps he will give a frank assessment over how he sees the situation surrounding his captain.

SPURS fans have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of money being spent - or trying to be spent, in Gibbs-White’s case - so far this summer.

It leads questions as to where the extra cash has come from, with talk of a significant injection from majority owners ENIC being the source.

Despite the big-money moves for Kudus and Gibbs-White, Spurs have strong interest in Yoane Wissa, the DR Congo striker who scored 19 Premier League goals for Frank at Brentford last term.

Wissa, 28, has one year left on his Bees contract and would be a savvy signing given his versatility.

Can Frank confirm that is an area he is looking to strengthen to give Dominic Solanke some much-needed competition - or is he backing Richarlison to overcome his injury problems?

FRANK may well opt not to reveal his hand over the formation he plans to employ.

But whether it is 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 or 3-5-2, it is more than likely to involve three central midfielders - with two of them probably deeper-lying.

This is interesting because holding midfield has been a problem position for some time for Spurs.

First of all, given all the spending elsewhere, do Spurs have headroom to bring in a new No6?

And if not, what about the players he has there now?

The club are keen to sign Rodrigo Bentancur up to a new deal and Frank namechecked the Uruguayan in his first interview with the club, so clearly rates him.

Yves Bissouma looked to be out the door for most of last season but then played a key role in the semi-final and final of the Europa League. He only has one year left on his deal though and has been linked to Fenerbahce and Juventus.

Lucas Bergvall is likely to be a key man going forward but what about Archie Gray, the teenager Frank came close to signing at Brentford? Where will he play?

Many, many questions about the middle of the park.

SPURS are back in the Champions League but have a big squad that needs trimming.

At centre-back, for example, they currently have NINE different options if you include youngster Alfie Dorrington.

Some players will surely go, either permanently like Bryan Gil, or on loan.

Decisions will have to be made about youngsters like Luka Vuskovic, a target for Bundesliga clubs, and new Japanese signing Kota Takai. Does Frank see them as first-team ready now?

Manor Solomon has also returned from a Championship-winning loan spell at Leeds, and Frank will give him a chance in pre-season, but if the Israeli does stay, his opportunities look like they will be limited given the vast array of competition.

FIRST off, Frank will be asked for fitness updates on Spurs’ current list of crocked players.

James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin all missed the end of the season because of various issues. Fans will be eager to hear where they are in their respective recoveries.

But there may well be more scrutiny on how exactly he plans to stop Spurs being derailed by injuries, as they have been for the last two seasons.

Predecessor Ange Postecoglou was often accused of being part of the problem with his intense training and matches, but he would push back on that.

For the second summer in a row, Spurs have made big changes to their medical department, suggesting they are not happy with the results they have been seeing.

POSTECOGLOU often gave the impression he was not too fussed about set-pieces - but Frank certainly is.

Dead-ball routines were a big part of his success at Brentford and he has already hired coach Andreas Georgson to focus on set pieces.

No doubt they will look focus on a number of areas for that part of the game, and one in particular could be long throw-ins.

Footage from full-back Destiny Udogie’s Snapchat account seemed to suggest as much, with a screen in the background of one of the Italian’s posts showing ‘long throw audition’ as part of the day’s training schedule.

Can Frank confirm he is looking to go all Rory Delap?

LEVY made a bold claim earlier this summer when explaining his decisions behind sacking Postecoglou and hiring Frank.

Winning the Europa League was not enough, it is Premier League and Champions League glory that he feels Spurs should be targeting.

Given the club were revealed in February by the Deloitte Football Money League report to have had the lowest wage-to-turnover ratio in the division, is this feasible or deluded?

While paying the most does not guarantee trophies - as Manchester United have found out - there is generally a correlation between bigger wages and success.

In fairness, there was no timeframe put on Levy’s ambitious goal, and Frank will obviously not criticise his boss in public even if he thinks differently.

Still, it will be interesting to see how he reacts when that question is put to him.

IT would be understandable if Frank did.

Postecoglou may have had a nightmare league campaign - which was the justification Levy used when ruthlessly axing him in June.

But the Aussie did something no other manager has achieved in 17 years at Tottenham by winning a trophy, which is the be all and end all for a lot of fans.

He also delivered the first European success in 41 years, giving supporters memories to last a lifetime.

Frank will back himself to build on that success but are there any concerns at all now he is working for a man with a trigger-happy history?

EX-TOTTENHAM star Aramide Oteh was the victim of sickening racist abuse during a Champions League qualifier, his club have claimed.

Welsh football club The New Saints released a statement on social media condemning alleged racist abuse against Oteh by a member of the home crowd during their game against KF Shkendija.

The club's coach, Craig Harrison, also claimed the 26-year-old striker was left in tears at the abuse.

The North Macedonia-based outfit beat The New Saints 2-1 after extra time to secure an aggregate victory after a goalless first leg in the first qualifying round of the Champions League.

Now The New Saints have released a damning statement against a fan seated in the home end of the 3,000-strong crowd at the Tetovo City Stadium.

The statement read: "The New Saints FC strongly and unequivocally condemn the racist abuse directed at Aramide Oteh by a member of the home crowd following the conclusion of tonight’s UEFA Champions League first qualifying round match against KF Shkëndija.

"There is absolutely no place for racism - either in football or in society.

"Everyone at the club is offering their full support to Aramide and stand firmly by him."

"The New Saints are proud to support UEFA’s #NoToRacism campaign and remain committed to promoting equality, respect, and inclusion both on and off the pitch."

SunSport have contacted Uefa and Shkendija for comment on the matter.

Speaking after the game, Harrison added: "He is in tears - that doesn't happen for no reason.

It's clearly what's been said and done. Obviously that's unacceptable. We will be reporting that.

"For a fan to speak to anybody like that is an absolute disgrace and let's hope the culprit gets a fair punishment and is dealt with."

Oteh, originally from Lee in South London, came on as a late substitute in the clash.

Having come through the academy at Tottenham, whom he joined aged eight, he eventually left the club at the age of 18.

From there, he joined Queens Park Rangers, going on to make 17 first-team appearances and scoring once.

He went on to loan to Walsall, Bradford, Stevenage and Colchester between 2019 and 2021.

Oteh left QPR permanently in 2021 to join Salford on a short-term deal.

Crawley were next, with Oteh scoring his first goal for the club in their first-ever win over Harrogate.

In 2023, he then returned to Walsall before winding up at TNS a year later.

Defeat for the Saints means they have dropped into the qualifiers for the Conference League, where they will face Luxembourg's Differdange.

TOTTENHAM and Nottingham Forest are engaged in a battle of brinkmanship over Morgan Gibbs-White.

Forest issued legal complaints to Spurs and Gibbs-White’s representatives after the North Londoners thought they had triggered a £60million release clause to buy the England man.

The Tricky Trees are arguing they did not give permission to approach their talisman.

While they all cite breach of confidentiality of the release clause, given they did not tell Tottenham of its existence.

They are yet to take their formal complaint to the Premier League, who would be obliged to investigate any objection they receive.

The fact that Gibbs-White is still a Forest player raises the question as to whether all the conditions of the release clause have been met.

Some release clauses are not as simple as paying a specific figure.

For example, they can also have conditions involving the payment plan or stipulations involving who the buying club is.

Theoretically, if Spurs have not met those conditions but suddenly now do, it would add further weight to Forest’s breach of confidentiality argument, which could explain why the move is currently in limbo.

Having already sold key winger Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £55m, Forest are not under financial pressure to sell and would prefer to keep Gibbs-White.

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They have been attempting to extend his contract for the last year, but it is understood that MGW and his representatives have thus far not been interested in entering negotiations.

Gibbs-White, 25, trained today as normal during Forest's pre-season.

The belief is that he is still likely to become a Spurs player this summer, but it is a matter of who blinks first between Forest and Tottenham.

THOMAS FRANK appears to want to add long throws to Tottenham’s armoury this season.

The Dane is a big believer in the benefits of set-piece specialisms having had great success in that area at previous club Brentford.

He has already hired a coach who will have a heavy focus in that area in former Arsenal and Manchester United staff-member Andreas Georgson.

And now defender Destiny Udogie seems to have let slip a particular demand for long throw-ins thanks to some footage he has posted on social media.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed a screen displaying the day’s training schedule in the background of the Italian’s Snapchat video.

Under the training section, there are five bullet points - the last of which reads “long throw audition”.

Brentford scored 14 of their 66 Premier League goals last term from set-pieces.

Their specialist coach in that department was Keith Andrews, who ended up succeeding Frank as head coach after the Dane left for Spurs.

Only Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest (all 17), Aston Villa (16), Brighton and Everton (both 15) netted more.

The Bees were also better than any other side at shipping goals from set-pieces.

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Brentford conceded just three - which was three better than the next-best Manchester City.

Frank also had the West Londoners focused on making fast starts from kick-offs.

BIRMINGHAM City have confirmed plans to build a 60,000-seater "coliseum" as their new stadium.

The new ground will be fitted with a retractable pitch - mirroring Tottenham’s hi-tech idea.

Club CEO Jeremy Dale outlined the incredible plan for the super stadium in the club’s 2024/25 annual review, with the ground set to form the centre-piece of plans to develop a multi-billion pound Sports Quarter in the east of the city.

Blues owner Tom Wagner and NFL great Tom Brady, a minority shareholder in the club, hope the plans will help them in their path to becoming one of the Premier League's big boys.

Dale said: "The centrepiece of this £3billion project is a 60,000-seat multi-purpose stadium, the like of which will not have been seen before.

“The world’s leading architects are competing for the contract to design the stadium, which will include a retractable pitch, to allow non-sporting events like concerts to take place.

“The vision is that it will become an iconic ‘sporting coliseum’, respectful of local heritage, and provide an all-year location for sport, culture, leisure, entertainment, retail and education.

“We have been on this for a year, with 75 consultants working on the project already, the master plan and business plan. It is super exciting.”

Plans for the Sports Quarter will be submitted in 2026, and if all goes well the club are hoping to have spades in the ground in 2028.

With plans to play a range of sports in the new ground, the club agreed to use a similar plan to Tottenham to allow them to use two surfaces.

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Tottenham successfully host NFL games on an artificial pitch, which slides into place. It is wheeled in in three sections, on palates moved by 168 wheels.

Birmingham’s plan could see them rival Spurs to host NFL games in the future.

Tottenham’s retractable pitch is made up of three sections, with each weighing in at 3,000-tonnes.

It has 33 turf trays on, fitted in a seamless join between segments.

The process is automatic, meaning the groundsman can call in the pitch with the touch of a button.

Birmingham were promoted back to the Championship at the first time of asking last season, finishing top of League One with a record points total of 111.

They got pre-season off to a fine start, beating LaLiga side Seville 3-1.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST have now made their legal complaint over Tottenham's pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White.

The Midlands outfit are arguing they did not give permission to approach their talisman.

While Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis also wants to know how Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was made aware of a £60million release clause in the England man's contract.

Gibbs-White had been expected to have a Spurs medical on Friday - until Forest's furious response put the block on the switch, temporarily at least.

The 25-year-old reported back for Forest pre-season training just before 9am on Monday morning.

Spurs still hope to follow up last week's £55million signing of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham with Gibbs-White, who has two years remaining on his Forest contract.

But right now the midfielder remains in limbo, waiting to see if the dispute can be resolved to allow him to complete the move to North London.

Recently-appointed Spurs boss Thomas Frank sees Gibbs-White, who has four caps for England, as the kind of dynamic No10 he wants in his new-look side.

Frank wanted Gibbs-White during his time in charge at Brentford, whom he left last month to succeed Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham.

Spurs are understood to have been notified by Forest of their objection, while the Premier League are obliged to look into any formal complaint that is made.

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The Gibbs-White transfer is still expected to get done eventually but Marinakis' outfit will not make it easy for Tottenham.

Forest have been keen to tie Gibbs-White down to a new deal for the past 12 months, and are believed to have been open to either increasing the release clause figure or even removing it altogether in fresh terms.

But Gibbs-White is understood to have shown little interest in extending his deal, which still has two years to run, during that time.

Forest fans are understandably concerned at the prospect of losing two of their best players, with Anthony Elanga already sold last week to Newcastle for £55m.

While Forest were loath to lose Elanga, they felt that fee was too good to turn down for the Swede.

Marinakis remains fiercely ambitious though and is expected to reinvest any funds raised back into the team ahead of the club's first European campaign in 30 years.

MORGAN GIBBS-WHITE hasn't been included in Nottingham Forest's team for their first pre-season friendly.

Forest visit Chesterfield at the Technique Stadium as they gear up for another exciting season that will see them return to Europe for the first time in 30 years.

However, they might be without star man Gibbs-White, 25, who is close to moving to Tottenham during the summer transfer window.

And the playmaker has been left out of Nuno Espirito Santo's squad for the friendly in Chesterfield.

This comes as Evangelos Marinakis' club delay the England international's move to Spurs while consulting lawyers over potential legal action.

SunSport understand the ex-Wolves star is set to leave the City Ground after the North Londoners triggered his secret £60million release clause.

The attacking midfielder was preparing for a medical as well as a long-term agreement.

However, Forest have put the breaks on the move and consider the deal to be "off for now".

Last season's Premier League surprise package are consulting their lawyers over what they believe was an illegal approach.

The club argue they never gave permission for talks and have cut all communication with Tottenham.

Forest believe there has also been a breach in confidentiality around Gibbs-White's release clause because Spurs' bid was pitched at exactly that level.

While the existence of the clause was known at the City Ground, it had not been publicly disclosed until after it was triggered by Tottenham on Thursday afternoon.

But SunSport understands it is unlikely the club can block the move.

Nevertheless, Gibbs-White's transfer to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can be delayed as his current club prepares a complaint to the Premier League.

THOMAS FRANK and Johan Lange shared a tiny office at Danish minnows Lyngby 20 years ago.

They are now in far more luxurious surroundings, mapping out Tottenham’s bright new future at their state-of-the-art training ground.

And that is truly up and running with this week’s £55million swoop for Mohammed Kudus, while Morgan Gibbs-White's £50million move has been put on hold for legal reasons.

Birger Jorgensen was director of football at Lyngby in the mid-2000s when he gave Frank his big break.

Lange, who coached the Copenhagen side’s reserves, is now Frank’s technical director at Spurs after the new boss was lured from Brentford.

Jorgensen, 60, visited them earlier this summer and prays they make a fast start to the season.

He told SunSport: “Both know there’s a danger that they are now working together. Two former friends from the same nationality, a small country, it’s a tough world.

“Even though Thomas has done a good job in the last six or seven years at Brentford, if you lose your first five games nobody will remember that.

“But, hopefully, they can succeed together because they are thinking more or less in the same way.

“They can be strategically aligned recruitment-wise and playing-wise. They are the same people as 20 years ago. Both of them deserve to be where they are now.

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“It is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I cross all my fingers that they can succeed — especially in the beginning because then you have a chance to continue the good vibes.”

Tottenham have gone from a manager accused of never adapting his style — to one who has changed tack since his early days in coaching.

Frank earned his move to succeed the puritanical Ange Postecoglou at Spurs after a Brentford stint where set-piece prowess and defensive solidity were key to his success.

But he was not always like that.

Frank’s role was “individual coach”, a Danish FA-subsidised position working on a one-to-one basis with the club’s best talent aged 16-22.

Among those was a teenage Christian Norgaard, who Arsenal have just signed from Brentford.

Jorgensen added: “When we were working together decades ago, we were never talking set-pieces, it wasn’t a part of football.

“We were never talking about defending out of possession — we wanted to have the ball all the time.

“Thomas has definitely changed that part at Brentford. He is very focused on set-pieces, for and against, and very focused on the transition, defending and all that kind of stuff.

“I brought Thomas and Johan to Lyngby because I believed they had the same mentality - curious, hard-working, good people

Jorgensen

“The game changed and he adapted when he was in the big leagues.

It’s because Thomas and Johan are smart people. They sniff what is going on inside football.”

The individual coach role is something Frank and Lange have introduced this summer at Spurs, with ex-RB Leipzig and Rangers man Cameron Campbell taking the position.

Frank and Lange were heavily influenced by Lyngby’s first-team manager Kasper Hjulmand, the Denmark coach that lost to England in the Euro 2020 semi-finals.

Other staff members also made their name further down the line.

The Under-19s boss Niels Frederiksen has just won the Polish top flight with Lech Poznan.

Jorgensen continued: “Nobody knew that group of individuals would succeed later on in a number of different ways.

“For small money, we found it interesting to work and inspire each other, play some good football, make some good scouting.

“We always said, ‘serious people with a social life’, in that period.

“We enjoyed each other’s company and enjoyed the life.

“I brought Thomas and Johan to Lyngby because I believed they had the same mentality — curious, hard-working, good people. They were fantastic together.

“In Denmark, we don’t have big ambitions to run a Premier League team. If you asked Johan and Thomas back then, I don’t think they would have believed they could go so far.

“I don’t think we would have said they would go to Premier League clubs back then — maybe big clubs in Denmark. But later on, why not?

“Because they are both skilful, hard-working, clever, good at working with people and strategic.”

Frank honed his communication and motivational skills at Lyngby before moving on to coach Denmark Under-17s in 2008.

As well as Norgaard, Frank helped mould striker Yussef Poulsen.

Jorgensen said he was “not such a skilful player back then” but is now “a big shot” at RB Leipzig.

Lange, 45, is a transfer power- broker now, but he was on the training pitch then, before returning in 2013 as Lyngby’s manager.

That followed a brief spell as Stale Solbakken’s assistant at Wolves a year prior.

He later moved into a recruitment role at Copenhagen before taking similar jobs at Aston Villa and now Spurs.

Having an old pal in such a prominent position should help Frank to get used to his new surroundings.

FANS declared “they’re gonna fall out” after James Maddison shared an awkward interaction between Mohammed Kudus and Micky van de Ven.

The pair have been reunited at Tottenham just nine months after clashing on the pitch — with Kudus receiving a FIVE-MATCH ban for his role in the ruckus.

The winger completed a £55million move to Spurs from West Ham this week after emerging as a top target for Thomas Frank.

Kudus was desperate to leave the Hammers after two years in East London.

And he is now set to be joined at his new club by Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.

However, Kudus’ switch to Spurs means he faces an awkward reunion with defender Van de Ven.

The pair clashed during October’s game between Tottenham and West Ham, with Kudus sent off after lashing out at Van de Ven’s face.

The incident saw him land a five-game ban.

And on Friday, new team-mate Maddison stoked the fire as he shared an awkward clip of Kudus and Van de Ven dining at the same table.

Kudus - whose incredible rise has been revealed by Sun Sport - looked to be worlds away as he sat on his mobile phone, while Van de Ven looked over at him with a smirk on his face while flashing a quick thumbs-up.

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Maddison could also be heard chuckling in the background.

And fans were left wondering whether the two would ever be able to get along following their history.

One said: “Kudus is gonna fall out with the squad in training and end up smashing someone.”

Another declared: “Kudus is not happy.”

One noted: “Bro VDV hates him.”

Another added: “Maddison stirring for no reason.”

NOTTINGHAM FOREST are delaying Morgan Gibbs-White's move to Tottenham while they consult their lawyers over potential legal action.

SunSport understand Gibbs White, 25, is set for a sensational exit from Forest after Spurs triggered his secret £60million release clause.

And the player was preparing for a medical as well as a long-term agreement.

According to Sky Sports, however, Forest have put the breaks on the playmaker's move to the North Londoners.

The same source claims the Tricky Trees consider the deal to be "off for now".

Forest are consulting their lawyers over what they believe was an illegal approach.

The club argue they never gave permission for talks and have cut all communication with Tottenham, Sky Sports report.

Forest believe there has also been a breach in confidentiality around the England international's release clause because Spurs' bid was pitched at exactly that level.

While the existence of the clause was known at the City Ground, it had not been publicly disclosed until after it was triggered by Tottenham on Thursday afternoon.

But SunSport understands it is unlikely the club can block the move during this year's summer transfer window.

Nevertheless, Gibbs-White's transfer to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can be delayed as his current club prepares a complaint to the Premier League.

SunSport have contacted Forest for comment over the recent developments.

Gibbs-White, who has two years left on his City Ground deal, played a massive role during Forest's surprise Premier League rise last season.

They finished seventh in the Prem and earned qualification to the Conference League.

And the attacking midfielder helped them return to Europe for the first time in 30 years with a total of seven goals and ten assists in 38 appearances.