The New York Times

To reach Thomas Frank’s hometown of Frederiksvaerk, around 50 kilometres north of Copenhagen and where his mother still lives, The Athletic caught two trains and a bus from the Danish capital. The bus cuts through forests and fields, before it trundles past the glittering water of the Roskilde Fjord. It stops at the side of a motorway, and from there, the clubhouse of Frederiksvaerk (FFK) is accessed through a small tunnel.

It is a place still very much close to Frank’s heart. When the new Tottenham Hotspur head coach returns to Denmark, he runs past the club’s pitches.

“The last time he was here in March, I was sitting upstairs in the office,” Martin Holm Jensen, a senior figure at FFK, tells The Athletic. “I could hear somebody walking on the stones outside the front gate. He was standing down there looking onto the pitch and knocking on the window, so he came up and said hello.”

Frank has not forgotten any of his friends from Frederiksvaerk. When he turned 50 in October 2023, he took a group of 35 of them to the Spanish island of Mallorca to celebrate, some he had known since childhood. They played padel, drank cocktails and reminisced about the roles they had all played in Frank’s coaching career, which started in the remote Danish town with a population of just over 10,000.

“Thomas does everything he can to be the same person,” says Anders Bay, who has known Frank for over a decade. “At the start of every year, he always texts me to arrange to meet up when the season has finished. If you were a typical top manager, you would want to sit in a room by yourself or be with your family in your spare time but that’s not Thomas. He remembers everybody.”

Frank has spent the majority of the last seven years in charge of Brentford but has accepted the biggest challenge of his career. In June, he signed a three-year contract to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham.

Frank earned £100 ($130) from his first coaching job. Now, he is on a multi-million-pound salary at Spurs, who have a 60,000-seater stadium and will play in the Champions League next season.

The Athletic has been to Denmark to trace the earliest steps in Frank’s journey to north London.

“Frederiksvaerk is a small town with a harbour but not many jobs, so most people leave to work in the city,” says Jensen.

Their football club, FFK, was formed in November 2004 when Frederiksvaerk Boldklub (FB) and Brederod merged. They compete in the seventh tier of Danish football.

Frank progressed through FB’s youth ranks and played in midfield for their first team in the 1990s. When he was 20, he was encouraged to become a coach by Jesper Olsen — no relation to the former Manchester United and Ajax winger of the same name. He was given a tracksuit and 1,000 Danish kroner, which amounts to just over £100.

“My father was part of the board and became youth-team chairman,” says Jacob Olsen, Jesper’s son. “My father tried to recruit senior players to become coaches. Thomas volunteered because he wanted to help young people and give something back.”

Frank worked alongside Jacob Hansen, with whom he remains close, and Lis Westberg Pedersen. The latter captained Denmark to victory at the 1971 Women’s World Cup in Mexico.

Frank studied for a sports degree at the University of Copenhagen, where he wrote about his experiences coaching FB’s under-eights and under-12s. Frank coached Jacob, who describes him as “human, ambitious and with his heart in the right place”. They still keep in touch and the Olsens visited him in London in December.

“He used the experiences he gained from university to develop us,” says Olsen. “He focused on everyone. Thomas and Lis were two fantastic people who created joy and a well-functioning team. He introduced the ‘trick of the week’, which the players loved.

“Thomas says the two biggest games of his career were the billion-dollar match for promotion to the Premier League at Wembley against Swansea in 2021 and the match for the Zealand Championship between Frederiksvaerk and Brondby. We beat Brondby 2-0. It was a joke but he remembers people. It was as if nothing had changed when we saw him. We enjoyed our trip to Brentford but it was clear he appreciated it too.”

The pitches where Frank started his coaching career no longer exist as they were left behind when FFK was created. The grass has overgrown and is covered with trees and bushes.

Frank left Frederiksvaerk in 1999 to join Hvidovre, a club in the Copenhagen suburbs who won the Danish top flight three times between 1966 and 1981. Peter Schmeichel represented them before he went on to play for Brondby, Manchester United and the national team.

Frank was recruited by Ebbe Bay, the youth team chairman at the time. He worked alongside Kim Hallberg, who now holds a senior role at the Danish Football Association (DBU), and Brian Riemer, who went on to become Frank’s assistant at Brentford and is now Denmark’s head coach.

Teddy Hebo is Hvidovre’s chairman and has been associated with them for more than 60 years. When Frank first joined, Hebo watched training one evening.

“There was almost no light on the pitch but Thomas was training with the players and it fascinated me,” Hebo says after taking The Athletic on a guided tour of the club’s facilities, pointing out the pitches where Frank spent so many hours. “He had this infectious energy that he transferred to the squad. He was dynamic, engaged and dedicated.

“He came over to me and asked, ‘Who are you?’. We talked and established a good relationship. Then he started training my son Thomas and we became even closer.”

Frank spent five years with Hvidovre and juggled coaching duties with a degree in psychology. He went travelling to New Zealand and Australia with his wife Nanna before they became parents for the first time. Money was tight and there were moments when he had to consider if full-time coaching was the right option for his family.

“Thomas got paid so little you wouldn’t believe it,” Hebo says. “Around £1,000 a year. I would invite Thomas and Kim over for red meat and red wine because that was a way to recognise their work.

“Thomas and Nanna were young people who worked hard. She studied to become a psychologist and then worked for a children’s association. The success of Thomas is his wife. She has been his strongest supporter but challenges him. When he goes a little bit wild, Nanna brings him back on track.”

Frank left Hvidovre in 2004 to become an integrated talent development (ITU) coach at second-division side B93. The ITU scheme was created by the DBU, which agreed to pay part of a coach’s salary at some of the best academies in Denmark. That coach would then focus on individual player development. It is similar to the newly created role of an individual development coach at Spurs.

Johan Lange was a coach at B93, after he had spent time in their academy as a child, and has had a big say in Frank’s career. In November 2023, Lange was appointed as Tottenham’s sporting director. The 45-year-old played a crucial role in the process of hiring Frank from Brentford. Over 20 years after they first crossed paths at a small club near the centre of Copenhagen, they have been reunited. Frank only spent 12 months with B93 but made a significant impact.

“Thomas had to be creative because we didn’t have a lot of money or the right clothing and equipment,” Frank Nielsen, B93’s sports manager, tells The Athletic in a building next to their clubhouse, which is being renovated. “He helped us to structure the way we trained players and developed what we call the ‘red line’. You sit down with all the coaches of the different age groups and make sure you are coaching them in the same way and are all heading in the right direction.”

Frank’s work with Hvidovre and B93 caught the attention of Birger Jorgensen at second-tier side Lyngby. The first time Jorgensen met Frank was at a meeting of Denmark’s coaches that the DBU hosted every summer in Vejle.

Lange moved to Lyngby in 2005 and Frank followed shortly after. They worked together alongside future Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand and Niels Frederiksen, who has just won the Polish top flight with Lech Poznan. They all shared a small office on the bottom floor of the clubhouse, which is now where the media and communications staff are based.

“Lygnby went bankrupt in 2001 and we had to rebuild it,” says Jorgensen, who is leading Lyngby’s stadium redevelopment. “After that, this club was like a laboratory. Kasper moved into the first team, Johan Lange had the reserves and then Thomas became the ITU coach. Kenneth Weber, who is now an assistant with the Danish national team, was here too.”

Lyngby’s crop of talented coaches would watch Champions League games together and took inspiration from Barcelona. Jorgensen visited Frank at Brentford’s training ground in May and there was a chart on the wall in the canteen which measured how many chances they were creating and conceding from set pieces.

“In that period, we didn’t think set pieces were part of football,” Jorgensen says. “We wanted to have the ball all the time. It’s Thomas’ personality that catches you but he has progressed tactically. He is clever to take the next level and follow how football has developed. He can adapt to different clubs.

“It’s incredible that (Frank and Lange) have joined Spurs. I texted them both: ‘It is crazy that you guys were here and are now there. I can’t advise you anymore, but my final piece of advice is, “Win every weekend”‘.”

During Frank’s time at Lygnby, Andreas Bjelland was a talented centre-back in their academy. They remain close and this year Bjelland called Frank for advice when he considered retiring.

“Thomas is a kind person,” Bjelland, who is now an assistant coach at Lyngby, says after accidentally interrupting The Athletic’s conversation with Jorgensen. “He has an interest in you as a person, not just as a player. He knows how to get the best out of you.

“He was good at challenging me and making me grow. When I was younger, I didn’t have a dream. He pushed me and gave me direction.”

Bjelland went on to play for Nordsjaelland, Twente and moved to Brentford in 2015. Within a year, he had been reunited with Frank, who had been appointed as an assistant to head coach Dean Smith.

“I was happy to see him,” Bjelland says. “The English culture was about fighting and winning duels. Thomas came in and made tactical adjustments. We played shape games of 11 v zero to see the patterns in play, to understand if I have the ball, then we want to go here, which way to turn my body… we had never done that before.”

After three years with Lyngby, Frank was interested in becoming the head coach of Denmark’s under-16s and under-17s. Hallberg, his former assistant at Hvidovre, had moved to the DBU and recommended him to then-general secretary Jim Stjerne Hansen.

Frank impressed Hansen during a meeting at their offices. The negotiations between the DBU and Lyngby were over a modest fee compared to the £10million ($13.5m) Spurs paid to take Frank and his backroom staff from Brentford.

“I asked Thomas for a copy of his employment contract and he said it didn’t exist,” says Hansen, who was general secretary from 1988 until 2014. “He just got paid every month and that was it. Somebody from Lyngby called me and said: ‘Jim, you have to pay £15,000 for Thomas’. I replied, ‘Can you send me a copy of his contract?’. I never heard from them again.”

Denmark topped their group at the Under-17 European Championship in 2011 with victories against Serbia, France and an England side that included Raheem Sterling and Jordan Pickford. They lost against Germany in the semi-finals.

Later that year, they played in the Under-17 World Cup for the first time, but finished bottom of a group containing Brazil, Ivory Coast and Australia. Brazil’s captain was future Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos, while Souleymane Coulibaly scored a hat-trick for Ivory Coast against Frank’s team. That name may ring a bell among Spurs fans: Coulibaly finished as the tournament’s top goalscorer, which led to a move to Spurs. Sadly, he never made an appearance for the first team.

Frank helped to develop future Spurs midfielders Christian Eriksen and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, as well as Arsenal’s new signing Christian Norgaard. He worked with a lot of the Danish squad that lost to England in the semi-final of the senior European Championship in 2021.

Frank had a close relationship with Hansen. He would regularly visit his boss at home and “loved” eating the platters of cheese Hansen’s wife prepared. He took over the under-19s and asked about stepping up to the under-21s. Yet, he still had a lot to learn.

“He was a little bit naïve because he wanted to play like Barcelona,” Hansen says. “Thomas has a close friendship with Albert Capellas, the former director of Barcelona’s academy, who then became his assistant at Brondby.

“Thomas was in favour of possession, possession and possession. He came back from a game against Norway and said, ‘Jim, we had 65 per cent of the ball’. But they lost 2-1.

“When Thomas then worked with me at Brondby, he said, ‘I admit that this is about results and nothing else matters’.”

While Frank was in charge of Denmark’s youth teams, Bay contacted him about working as a pundit for the television company Channel Nine. Frank made multiple appearances on their shows and developed a relationship with Bay.

Bay worked alongside Aldo Petersen, who became Brondby’s chairman in 2013. That summer, Frank was appointed as their head coach. Bay was their new head of communications and marketing. Hansen released Frank from his contract with Denmark without a fee.

“People were saying he was just a youth-team coach,” Bay, who is now the head of sport for the Walt Disney Company in Denmark, says. “But he likes to be challenged and get new things into his head. He is curious, empathetic and attentive.

“He is interested in other people. He had one-on-one meetings with all the members of staff. He is so open-minded and being with people inspires him. He is very good at getting people around him — staff, players and the board.

“He wants to feel what’s going on in a player’s life. We had Johan Elmander playing for us. Johan lost his father and Thomas said, ‘Whatever you need, time off, prioritise your family’. But he is not just a nice guy. He wants to win.”

Bay experienced Frank’s relentless desire to win on a trip to Dubai in 2014. Brondby’s staff competed against each other in a three-v-three beach football tournament where they were split into four teams. Bay was paired with Frank and then sporting director Per Rud. They won the competition but Bay was unhappy with their approach.

“I went to the bar in the evening and I was thinking about what happened because there were times when I was free but they didn’t pass the ball to me,” Bay says. “I confronted Per and Thomas and said, ‘Guys, what the f*** was going on?’. They laughed and said, ‘We wanted to win!’.

“He is ambitious and has a lot of self-confidence but is reflective. There were some tough times at Brondby. He didn’t win any of his first seven games. But he just worked harder. He might have a difficult start at Spurs but he is a survivor.

“It’s important that people remember you for who you are and not what you are, but Thomas prefers to be remembered as a successful manager rather than a great human being.”

Brondby only finished in ninth, five points above the relegation zone, the season before Frank joined. He guided them to back-to-back top-four finishes but left towards the end of his third season in charge. Brondby’s chairman, Jan Bech Andersen, had criticised Frank on an online forum using the alias Oscar, his son’s name. Frank held a press conference after the news broke and resigned. Andersen stepped down but remained on the board. The Athletic contacted Andersen for this piece but he did not want to comment.

A year after leaving the DBU, Hansen joined Brondby’s board and was there when Frank left. “We made two mistakes at Brondby with the coaches — one was Kent Nielsen and the other was Thomas,” he says. “But the pressure at Brondby is always tough. When the results are not there, the first thing they look at is the coach. What happened with Thomas and the owner is a sad end to the story.”

“People see Thomas as a nice and inclusive person but if you take advantage of him once or you don’t respect him then you are out,” Bay says.

“Thomas is not someone who compromises his values,” according to Hebo. “He hates bulls*** and is not afraid of speaking up. It is about hard work and humbleness for Thomas. It’s not just words. He lives with it.”

Seven months after resigning from Brondby, Frank became an assistant at Brentford following a meeting in a hotel with then co-directors of football Phil Giles and Rasmus Ankersen. The long-term plan was for him to succeed Smith but nothing was guaranteed.

“Thomas moved his family from Copenhagen to London for a job which I’m sure did not pay that well,” Hansen says. “I met him in London and we had a cup of coffee together. He said, ‘It’s tough with a wife and kids who are going to school here in a different system from Denmark but we will give it a try and see how it develops’. I admire that he took a risk and it has taken him to Tottenham.”

When Frank became Brentford’s head coach in October 2018, he got back in touch with Hebo, now the former managing director of the Danish and Norwegian division of Eli Lilly, an American pharmaceutical company. He was senior vice president for corporate human Eli Lilly at Danish firm Lundbeck, where he was responsible for talent development, and has written books about leadership.

After losing eight of his first 10 games in charge, Frank started to ring Hebo every Friday evening to discuss his challenges. Hebo encouraged Frank to set career goals and they came up with the acronym PATH — purpose, ambition, togetherness and hard work.

“Thomas has invested so much in leadership,” Hebo says. “One of the areas we worked on is called ‘constructive cynicism’. When you’re in a top job, you need to make difficult decisions and you need to deliver them in the right way. He has developed that significantly. He always asks for input before he makes decisions but is not afraid of making tough calls.

“He is still the same person he was when we worked at Hvidovre but he needs to manage his energy levels. He keeps going but sometimes you need to slow down. Thomas likes to chase lots of rabbits but sometimes you need to choose just one that you want to catch.”

Frank has only come close to running out of energy on one occasion. Towards the end of the 2019-20 season, Brentford won eight matches in a row to boost their chances of automatic promotion from the Championship but lost their final two games. They reached the play-off final but lost after extra time to west London rivals Fulham.

“A couple of days later, he was having breakfast with me by the sea and he was crushed,” Bay says. “It was devastating. He has this huge capacity and he can manage so many things but the lights went out. You cannot convince the players, staff and fans if you are not energised. But then, 10 days later, he was back. He was more idealistic about how to play football 10 years ago and now it’s about winning. He doesn’t care if they play amazing football if they lose.”

Brentford won the play-off final at the second attempt under Frank to achieve promotion to the Premier League. They memorably beat Arsenal 2-0 on the opening day of the 2021-22 season, their first game in the top flight for 74 years, and went on to finish 13th.

Frank recorded two top-half finishes in four seasons with Brentford. He missed out on the Chelsea job last summer to Enzo Maresca and was a potential replacement for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. Now he has got his opportunity at a bigger club thanks to Spurs.

“It’s probably one of the biggest jobs a Danish coach will ever have,” Bjelland says. “I’m so happy for him and proud of what he has done. He has earned it.”

“I contacted him when he was working at Brondby because I work with underdeveloped kids and one of them was a big fan,” Nielsen says. “Thomas made sure I could take him to see the facilities and watch the team train. He has never forgotten where he comes from. He is humble but it will be interesting to see how Tottenham will change him because the environment is much bigger.

“But it is unbelievable how he has gone from coaching at our little club to one of the biggest teams in the world.”

(Top photos: Nick Potts, Naomi Baker/Getty Images; design: Kelsea Petersen/The Athletic)

Morgan Gibbs-White has flown out to Portugal to join the Nottingham Forest training camp.

The attacking midfielder did not initially join up with the rest of the squad when they flew out on Monday but has done so after being allowed extra time at home because of a private family matter.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are preparing for friendly games against Fulham on Saturday and Estoril on Wednesday.

Gibbs-White has found himself at the centre of a transfer wrangle with Tottenham, after the London club made a £60million bid for Forest’s most important player on July 10.

Forest were frustrated that Spurs’ bid happened to precisely match a confidential release clause in Gibbs-White’s contract and that they had not given their permission for talks to proceed with the player.

Gibbs-White played for Forest in their last pre-season game, against Monaco at Chesterfield, when the England man applauded the Forest fans, before making a heart shape with his hands, as he was substituted at half-time.

Forest are in an awkward position with Gibbs-White having two years remaining on the contract he signed when he joined in a £25m, possibly rising to £42m, deal from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2022. The player has so far not agreed to put pen to paper on a new deal.

Forest had already sold Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £52m, a decision they might have made differently had they been aware of the situation that was arising with Gibbs-White.

In the meantime, Forest continue to work to add to their own ranks, with Dan Ndoye of Bologna and James McAtee of Manchester City high on their list of targets.

(Photo: Ed Sykes/Getty Images)

AUSTIN, Texas — Los Angeles FC is pushing hard to sign Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min in the summer window, according to multiple sources briefed on the discussions.

LAFC’s interest in Son has been previously reported, but the MLS team is pushing hard to bring the South Korean international to MLS in the coming weeks. One source said there has not yet been substantial movement toward any resolution, but talks continue and the hope in L.A. is that Son will be convinced to join the team for the rest of the 2025 season and beyond.

The MLS secondary window opens July 24 and runs through Aug. 21

Son, 33, seems to be outside of Tottenham boss Thomas Frank’s plans for Spurs — at least in his regular featured role. Asked recently about transfer speculation around the Spurs legend, Frank said it was a “tricky” situation.

“Right now, I have a player who is fully committed and training well, and will play tomorrow,” Frank said. “If a player has been at a club a long time, then there will always be a decision for the club to take.”

Son finally won a title with Spurs when they lifted the UEFA Europa League trophy in May. He finished as a Premier League runner-up in 2017 and a Champions League finalist in 2019 and was also beaten by Manchester City in the 2021 Carabao Cup final.

Spurs travel to Asia for a preseason tour this weekend, playing Arsenal in Hong Kong on July 31 and Newcastle in Seoul on Aug. 3. The Telegraph reported Son’s presence is key for Spurs due to a clause that would impact as much as 75% of their fee playing in Seoul if Son is not part of the touring squad.

Largely considered to be one of the top players in the Premier League over the last decade, Son would undoubtedly be one of the biggest signings in MLS history. The winger scored 10 or more goals in eight consecutive Premier League seasons. That streak was snapped last year when he finished with seven goals and nine assists in 30 appearances.

A hugely popular figure in South Korea and across Asia, Son would be an enormous commercial boost for LAFC in its home market, as well. Los Angeles is the metropolitan area with the largest Korean population in the U.S. (320,000), according to Pew Research Center, ranking ahead of New York (215,000) and Washington, D.C. (95,000) metro areas.

With Rodrigo de Paul set to sign in Miami, Son would also be the second major signing of the summer transfer window if LAFC is able to get the deal over the line. LAFC currently has two open designated player spots after mutually terminating its deal with Olivier Giroud.

Should he sign with LAFC, Son would be reunited with longtime Tottenham teammate Hugo Lloris. The French goalkeeper signed with LAFC in 2024 and has played 52 league games over the past season-plus.

LAFC currently sits in fifth place in the Western Conference but has multiple games in hand after participating in the FIFA Club World Cup.

David Ornstein contributed to this report.

(Top photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur winger Hayley Raso is in talks over a move to Portuguese club Benfica.

The 30-year-old Australia international is into the final year of her deal at Spurs and while an agreement is yet to be reached, talks between the clubs are ongoing.

Raso joined Tottenham last summer on a two-year contract from Real Madrid and scored on her debut, a four-goal victory over Crystal Palace in the Women’s Super League (WSL).

However, Raso did not score in her 12 subsequent appearances for the club.

Raso, who has 99 senior caps for Australia, previously played for Canberra United and the Brisbane Roar in the W-League, NWSL duo Washington Spirit and the Portland Thorns, before spells in Europe with Everton, Manchester City and Madrid.

New Spurs coach Martin Ho was appointed at the north London club earlier this month, and Spurs will now look to enhance the squad and the potential exit of Raso would precede incomings ahead of the new WSL season.

The club have made one signing this summer, with 19-year-old Japan defender Toko Koga joining from Feyenoord in July on a four-year deal.

Spurs endured a difficult 2024-25 campaign under previous head coach Robert Vilahamn, including a 10-game winless run from January which saw them record an 11th-place WSL finish, just one place from the foot of the table and relegation.

(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur are facing the prospect of having to leave a significant number of first-team players out of their Champions League squad in the coming season.

Qualification comes with the opportunity to play on club football’s grandest stage, and, crucially for a side who want to progress in the competition and remain in it for seasons to come, a huge cash injection to strengthen further via the transfer market. However, it also necessitates an increased focus on how their current ranks are constructed due to homegrown player rules.

The Premier League requires that its participating clubs’ squads “must contain no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the ‘homegrown player’ criteria”. According to the league’s rulebook, a homegrown player is “a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)”.

Tottenham have eight fully fledged first-team players who fulfil this classification (Brandon Austin, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies, Archie Gray, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Dominic Solanke and Djed Spence), and also several academy graduates and homegrown talents who may remain with the squad for the season, so they are currently on target.

However, UEFA’s ‘locally trained’ rules will be much trickier to navigate.

As for last season’s Europa League, which they won to secure this Champions League spot, Tottenham will submit two lists: List A (the main squad) and List B (players born on or after January 1, 2004, who have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years since turning 15).

The overall number of players (25) they include on List A is the same as for the Premier League, but the makeup of it will be markedly different. This is due to UEFA having a separate distinction between ‘association-trained’ and ‘locally trained’ players. In other words, where the Premier League does not pay attention to which English or Welsh team(s) developed a given player, UEFA necessitates that at least four of the eight association-trained players must have spent at least three entire seasons, or 36 months, between the ages of 15 and 21 at the club they’re currently with.

A quick glance at the eight senior players who qualify as homegrown demonstrates the pressing nature of the matter. Currently, only third-choice goalkeeper Austin is ‘locally trained’ compliant, and if Spurs do not address the issue, UEFA rules state they will have to leave three registration slots in their squad open for the coming season, reducing their total number of players from 25 to 22.

The situation has not been helped by Tottenham’s transfer activity.

Alfie Whiteman, a boyhood Spurs fan and an academy graduate, helped bolster their locally trained figures last season and earned a Europa League winner’s medal despite not playing in any of the games, but he has since been released. In his place, the club are likely to promote Antonin Kinsky to their European squad, having left him out of their Europa League group soon after signing him in January. Though this summer’s signings so far will improve Tottenham’s depth and quality, Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel and Kota Takai will never be eligible to fill homegrown status in the Premier League or UEFA competitions.

The proposed signing of Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest would be another addition to the association-trained contingent but not the ‘locally trained’ group. The need to strengthen a squad that new head coach Thomas Frank has declared should compete on all four fronts in the coming season must be balanced with UEFA’s squad-registration requirements, and there is some concern over the club’s ability to solve that puzzle.

Developing first-team-ready players through the academy is the optimal way out of this situation, as it requires no transfer fees and exposes young talent to elite football early in their development cycle. While it is largely dependent on the quality of those emerging from your youth setup, fellow Champions League qualifiers Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal are in good positions from a club-trained perspective, with the likes of Phil Foden, Curtis Jones and Bukayo Saka now seasoned operators in Europe’s premier competition.

Given Austin is likely to sit behind Guglielmo Vicario and Kinsky on the goalkeeping depth chart, Spurs are currently without a club-trained player in the squad who is expected to make a meaningful impact on the Champions League in the coming season.

Another avenue is to re-sign club-trained players who had moved on.

Arsenal moved for Wolverhampton Wanderers’ backup goalkeeper Dan Bentley last year as they sought to address their own homegrown concerns (which have since been addressed through the emergence of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly), but fell short of the asking price for their former academy player.

Tottenham academy graduate Kyle Walker-Peters was available as a free agent earlier this summer after leaving Southampton at the end of his contract and could have provided full-back cover on either side, but he has now joined West Ham United — possibly an opportunity missed. Though Noni Madueke, Arsenal’s recent signing from Chelsea, spent four years at Spurs’ academy to the age of 16, he would not have been eligible for a club-trained or association-trained slot as he spent the majority of the eligibility period in the Netherlands with PSV.

Others who fit this bill include Oliver Skipp, Harry Winks, Nabil Bentaleb, Dennis Cirkin, Troy Parrott and a slew of centre-backs, such as Japhet Tanganga, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Milos Veljkovic. In any other circumstances, it is unlikely that any of these will head up Hotspur Way this summer, not least because Tottenham are very well-stocked in central defence.

Oh, and then there’s Harry Kane…

Finding a way to manage the present while preventing any opportunity for Tottenham’s exciting young talents to demonstrate their qualities in the Champions League is another awkward quandary. If they were to return for Winks or Skipp, for example, how would that affect Lucas Bergvall or Archie Gray in midfield? On the same token, might a move for Carter-Vickers or Veljkovic harm Takai or Luka Vuskovic’s prospects of making the cut? With such a bloated first-team group already, it seems inevitable that quality players will be left disappointed when the club submit their final squad to UEFA after the summer transfer window closes on September 1.

As it stands, Frank will have to leave out nine first-team players. Takai, Manor Solomon, Bryan Gil, Yang Min-hyeok, Radu Dragusin (who suffered an ACL knee injury in February so will miss the new season’s opening months), Davies and Ashley Phillips (the latter two are association-trained) appear most likely to miss out at this point, but that’s only seven. And that’s before Gibbs-White, or any other potential incomings, necessitate more exclusions.

Fortunately, the long-term future looks brighter for Tottenham.

From 2026-27, Bergvall and Gray will be eligible to be registered in List B. The following season, they will become club-trained. The same will eventually apply to 18-year-old Vuskovic, should he remain at Spurs for three seasons or more.

But while their recent policy of attracting talented youngsters to their part of north London should bear fruit eventually, it won’t help them navigate this situation at present.

For now, Tottenham’s new-look boardroom has the unenviable task of addressing a pressing issue that could otherwise have a significant impact on the ability of Frank’s team to perform at their best in the Champions League next season.

(Top photo: John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)

As he made his way towards the tunnel after completing his warm-down exercises on the pitch, Morgan Gibbs-White was serenaded with noisy chants of his name from the Nottingham Forest fans.

The midfielder raised his hands above his head to applaud before then clasping them together into a heart shape to convey a simple message to those in the stands.

Will the 45 minutes and nine seconds of football Gibbs-White played in the first half of a 0-0 draw with Monaco of France’s Ligue 1 on Saturday be the last he plays in a Forest shirt?

The question of whether this was a goodbye will be answered in the coming days and weeks.

It does feel as though the saga — which began when Tottenham Hotspur made an offer of £60million for Forest’s talismanic player 10 days ago — is not yet definitively over.

Forest were frustrated that Spurs’ bid happened to precisely match a confidential release clause in Gibbs-White’s contract. But while those feelings are understandable, it will not guarantee an end to the London club’s interest in Forest’s most creative player.

Behind the scenes, it has been business as usual at Forest’s Nigel Doughty Academy, where Gibbs-White has been working hard with his team-mates since reporting back to begin pre-season training on Monday after England duty earlier in the summer.

When it comes to Gibbs-White, there have been no issues with the rest of the dressing room nor with the head coach, Nuno Espirito Santo, even if the club opted to keep him out of the limelight once more, with Nuno again not conducting post-match interviews after yesterday’s game, which saw him field entirely different teams in each half.

Ola Aina, who signed a new contract that runs until 2028 earlier this month, says the topic has been discussed in the dressing room, where Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi — who is into the final year of his current deal — have been the subject of some lighthearted flak.

“We have a bit of banter about stuff like that! But it’s that person’s business,” says Aina. “Of course I would (like to see Gibbs-White stay). But I don’t know what’s going on. You’d have to ask Morgan. I don’t think it will be forgotten (what Gibbs-White has done for the club). Never. He’s a terrific player, and his football speaks for itself.

“Everyone is being professional. Right now, we just need to get our heads down and focus on pre-season. This is going to be another important season for us, and we look forward to that. We need to build on last season. We need to try to progress as players, a club and a team. We want to go a step further again.”

It is hard to assess a player’s mood when they are warming up in pouring rain for a pre-season friendly, but Gibbs-White looked lively enough as he went through a series of stretching exercises with Jota Silva.

Gibbs-White’s previous appearance in a Forest shirt had been in the frustrating 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea in May, which confirmed that the club would not secure the Champions League football that had been such a tantalising possibility for much of the campaign.

He stepped out yesterday in their smart new kit, which carries something of a resemblance to the pin-striped offering Forest wore in 1992-93, a season that began with them selling one of their best players — Teddy Sheringham — to Tottenham and ended, ultimately, in relegation from the top flight.

Forest want to build on the seventh-placed finish they secured last time out, as they prepare themselves to play on the European stage for the first time in three decades. But losing their most influential player in the build-up to the new campaign would not be the ideal preparation.

The fact that Gibbs-White has not been persuaded to sign a new contract, with two years left to run on the one he signed when he joined in a £25million — potentially rising to £42m — move from Wolves in the summer of 2022, leaves Forest in a vulnerable position.

Wolves went through a similar situation themselves last season with Matheus Cunha, their own attacking talisman. Arsenal and Forest had been interested in the Brazilian, but he signed a new contract in February, which included a release clause that fairly reflected his value — and ultimately led to a £62.5million move to Manchester United a few weeks ago.

When Gibbs-White’s name was on the team sheet yesterday for what was Forest’s second pre-season game, it raised the question of how he might be received amid the prospect of his potential departure, which had even seen Tottenham schedule a medical for him on July 11, prior to Forest seeking legal advice over their approach. But he was cheered as loudly as any other Forest player when the line-ups were read out.

Forest played with their familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, with Gibbs-White in his usual position in the 10, playing just behind striker Chris Wood, with Hudson-Odoi and Jota on the flanks.

In what was a competitive game for a friendly, there were a few moments where Gibbs-White demonstrated exactly why he had become such an integral figure for this team.

After drifting out wide towards the right, he looked up before delivering a high, looping ball towards the far post, into the path of a run from Wood, who could not quite control the pass. When Hudson-Odoi played Gibbs-White into space, he cut into the box purposefully, before holding his head in his hands after opting to shoot — with an effort that cleared the bar — rather than to fire the ball across goal.

More than once he received the ball at his feet, turned, and advanced gracefully forward into space, as we have seen him do so many times during his 118 official appearances for the club. Gibbs-White even attempted to win a header against Eric Dier. But the force of the former Spurs and Bayern Munich man’s robust challenge even left his own team-mate, Pape Cabral, down in a heap.

Gibbs-White is expected to be part of the Forest squad that flies to Portugal for a pre-season training camp next week. Beyond that, the future remains uncertain.

Has he burned his bridges at Forest? It does not feel that way. He remains a popular figure in the dressing room and the reception he received from the fans on Saturday suggests many of them remain onside with a player they know very well it would be hugely difficult for the club to replace.

(Top photo: Neal Simpson/Getty Images)

Earlier this week, Destiny Udogie uploaded a video to social media that showed his Tottenham Hotspur team-mates Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and Pedro Porro dancing in the dressing room at the training ground.

It was a funny and wholesome moment — but there was a tiny, hidden detail in the video which Udogie unintentionally revealed.

Sarr was dancing in front of a large television screen which briefly displayed the first-team squad’s schedule as they prepare for the coming season. All players were due to go for a swim, it read, then head to the gym. After lunch, they would participate in a session called ‘back-to-back goals possession.’

But if you take a closer look at the bottom of that TV, you might make out a collection of fuzzy words which seem to read ‘long throw auditions’. Naturally, Spurs fans have seized on this. After all, long throws aren’t naturally associated with the game’s most glamorous or successful teams.

Lots of people describe the tactical approach of Tottenham’s new head coach Thomas Frank as pragmatic.

While he was in charge of previous club Brentford, they set up in a 3-5-2 system during their 2021-22 debut season in the Premier League, and one of their main routes of attack was goalkeeper David Raya pumping long balls towards 6ft1in (185cm) striker Ivan Toney. They were a potent threat from set pieces, too.

People who have known Frank throughout his coaching career prefer to call him open-minded.

He is prepared to try different ideas and adapts to the strengths and weaknesses of the players at his disposal. The best example of this is how throw-ins became a valuable weapon for him at Brentford — and he apparently wants to repeat the trick with Spurs after moving across London this summer.

Part of the reason why Frank has this attitude is because Brentford have a long history of employing specialist coaches, including throw-in expert Thomas Gronnemark, sleep consultant Anna West and Bartek Sylwestrzak, who helps players to improve their ball-striking technique. Andreas Georgson spent the 2019-20 season as their set-piece coach and will now perform the same role at Spurs. Keith Andrews, who was in charge of Brentford’s set-pieces last season, has even replaced Frank as their head coach.

Brentford hired all of these specialists out of necessity. When they were in the second-tier Championship, they did not have the money to go out and buy top players, so they focused on improving the talent present within their squad via any means necessary. On the opening day of that 2021-22 season, in Brentford’s first game in the English top flight for 74 years, Christian Norgaard scored from a throw-in routine to seal a famous 2-0 win against Arsenal.

Long throw-ins have become fashionable again in the Premier League but nobody has come close to matching the efficiency of Brentford, who were responsible for six of the 20 goals scored from them in the division last season.

According to The Athletic’s data model, Spurs generated 0.2 xG (expected goals) within 10 seconds of their attacking throw-ins last season — only Chelsea created less. Under Frank’s predecessor Ange Postecoglou, their full-backs tended to wait for James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall or Dejan Kulusevski to offer for the ball from midfield, before playing a quick one-two and recycling possession.

Keane Lewis-Potter and Michael Kayode, Brentford’s starting full-backs towards the end of that 2024-25 campaign, took a lot of their throw-ins, but sometimes centre-back Ethan Pinnock, central midfielder Mathias Jensen or forward Kevin Schade stepped up.

It was a strange sight to see Schade, their third-highest scorer (with 11) behind Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, drying the ball with a towel on the touchline, but he had one of the most powerful throws in the squad. Maybe Mohammed Kudus or Mathys Tel will become a secret weapon for Tottenham with their throw-ins; this is the whole point of Frank’s auditions.

Brentford generated 5.9 xG from throw-ins last season, which was comfortably the highest figure in the division. Nottingham Forest were a distant second at only 1.4. By way of direct comparison, Brentford attempted 98 more throws directly into the opposition penalty area in 2024-25 than Spurs did.

Do not be fooled into thinking that Porro, Udogie, Djed Spence or Archie Gray will suddenly start aimlessly hurling balls into the box. A lot of planning and creativity went into Brentford’s throw-in moves.

For example, in their penultimate game of last season, they caused west London rivals Fulham a lot of problems. Kayode can propel the ball powerfully across large distances and still retain accuracy. In the 21st minute against Fulham, he shaped his body to throw one into the box but shifted it at the last moment and instead found Lewis-Potter.

He receives the ball just inside Fulham’s half and rolls Emile Smith Rowe before clipping a pass towards Norgaard on the left wing. Brentford have changed the angle of their attack in an attempt to catch Fulham off-guard.

Fulham temporarily clear the ball, but Adama Traore is dispossessed by Wissa. The visitors’ defensive structure is now all over the place, with Calvin Bassey much deeper than his centre-back partner Joachim Andersen, and full-back Antonee Robinson nowhere near Mbeumo.

Mbeumo strides into the box and equalises with a drilled shot low into the corner.

Brentford might not have scored directly from a throw-in in this situation, but it all stems from their desire to be bold in such situations.

Brentford took the lead just before half-time in the same game from another throw-in.

Kayode is in charge again, and Fulham are wary of him picking out Yehor Yarmoliuk on the edge of the area. This unpredictability can create confusion among opposition defences and potentially lead to mistakes.

Fulham have all their outfield players in the penalty area to Brentford’s five, yet Sepp van den Berg manages to rise above everybody to flick the ball on…

… and Norgaard nudges it back across the box to provide Wissa with a simple finish. No Fulham player tracked the midfielder’s back-post run because they were all too worried about trying to win the initial ball.

Brentford are experts when it comes to every kind of set piece. They even scored straight from kick-off in three consecutive games last season. There are charts on the walls in the canteen at their training ground which show how many chances they are creating and conceding from set pieces. (Don’t be surprised if something similar is now introduced at Hotspur Way.)

After they beat his Liverpool side 3-1 in January 2023, Jurgen Klopp said Brentford “stretch the rules”.

“If you singled out every situation, you would find five fouls,” Klopp added. “But because it’s so chaotic, nobody sees it. That’s what they do, and it’s really good; they react to different things.

“They play like this against us, but against other teams, they play football, and it’s fantastic. You cannot defend long balls all the time. They were super-direct. That limits them in some aspects, but in this kind of game they are able to create chaos and they organised that extremely well.”

As more teams became aware of their threat from set pieces, Brentford responded by coming up with new ideas and cleverly disguising their intentions.

It happened in May against Fulham, and there is another example from the 3-1 defeat of Southampton last August.

Here, Mbeumo and Wissa drop off to potentially receive from a Jensen throw-in.

But the Denmark international takes a few steps back, signalling his intention to send it long, so his two strikers turn back and head off towards goal. At the same time, Nathan Collins and Pinnock, Brentford’s centre-backs, have moved from the penalty spot to the near post. Their presence will prevent goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from catching the ball.

Jensen’s delivery spins towards that front post, and Collins nips in front of the Southampton defenders to flick it on. Wissa makes an arcing run towards the back post…

… and is rewarded with an incredibly easy finish.

Southampton were tricked into thinking Brentford would throw the ball short, which meant they were poorly organised for Jensen’s longer effort.

Udogie’s innocent, behind-the-scenes video from Spurs training inadvertently highlighted the biggest difference between Frank and Postecoglou.

The latter largely stuck rigidly to his philosophy and dismissed the importance of set pieces, even comparing them to a rugby scrum. Frank will try anything if it helps his team gain an advantage.

Additional reporting: Thom Harris

(Top photo: Andrew Kearns/Getty Images)

It used to be said of Tottenham Hotspur that they were so keen on finding value in the transfer market they would ignore players who were right under their noses.

When Spurs full-back Danny Rose famously told UK newspaper The Sun in 2017 that he wanted them to sign players he did not “have to Google”, it struck a chord with the fanbase for a reason. This was an era when the club’s transfer business was necessarily constrained by the new-stadium build, a huge billion-plus project they had to pay for themselves, with no hand-outs from anyone else.

What is so striking about Tottenham’s transfer business in this window is how commonplace it is for them to target players who require far less research.

Of course, there is still a hunt for bargains, for young unknowns who can develop and then shine at Tottenham. That was the case when Fabio Paratici was in charge of their recruitment, and even more so now Johan Lange is technical director. The recent purchase of Kota Takai from Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale — not a player many of us had heard of — is the perfect example of this type of signing. A highly-rated youngster with great data who Spurs could beat the competition to. Antonin Kinsky, the goalkeeper signed from Slavia Prague in January, was another example of a similar trend.

Go back slightly further, and the likes of Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, though highly regarded by those well-versed in global youth football, were hardly household names before arriving in north London. Both ended the 2024-25 season having played a huge role in the club’s Europa League triumph.

But while Tottenham continue to go for players such as Takai and Kinsky — ones you can be forgiven for needing to Google — they have also made a habit of adding players who require no introduction. Which is what we have seen this month with the arrival of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United for £55million, and the attempt — still unresolved — to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest for £60m.

Take a step back, and this is perhaps the defining trend in Spurs’ transfer business in the past few years. And it is not the behaviour of a club shy about making their presence felt in the market.

When Rose made those famous comments eight years ago, it was not quite true that Tottenham never bought from other Premier League sides. For example, they signed Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama in summer 2016 for £11million. He made an instant impact in elevating the level of the team. Which is what you want when you buy an established player from a team in the same division. And a few weeks after Rose’s intervention, Spurs signed Fernando Llorente from Swansea City for £12m, although in truth the Spanish striker was always a high-level Plan B during his time at the club rather than a guaranteed starter.

After Llorente, however, Tottenham did not sign another player from a fellow Premier League side for another three years. (When Ryan Sessegnon and Jack Clarke were bought in summer 2019, from Fulham and Leeds United respectively, those sides were in the second-tier Championship.) It was not until 2020, when they added Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton and Matt Doherty of Wolves, that they started to buy from their own division again. And neither of those deals involved a big fee either, with each player costing roughly £15million.

It was only really in summer 2022 that Spurs started to behave like they routinely do now.

Remember that this was after one full season of post-pandemic football. Antonio Conte wanted some more experienced additions to his team after finishing in fourth and sealing Champions League football. It was no secret that Everton needed to sell Richarlison before the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) reporting deadline of June 30. Spurs managed to get him for a deal of £50million, plus a potential £10m more in add-ons. It was one of the biggest deals in Tottenham’s history, and a clear change in policy. Later that summer, they signed Yves Bissouma from Brighton & Hove Albion for £25m.

The next summer, when Ange Postecoglou came in as manager, Spurs went again to sign established top-flight players for significant fees. Leicester City had just been relegated, but Tottenham had been tracking their midfielder James Maddison for years. They persuaded him to join and bought him for £40million in late June. At the end of the window, they targeted Brennan Johnson of Nottingham Forest, another club who needed to sell for PSR reasons, and landed him for £47.5m.

In Postecoglou’s second (and last) summer, Spurs broke their transfer record with another big Premier League purchase. Bournemouth were not in quite the same situation as Everton in 2022 or Forest in 2023, but Dominic Solanke had two years left on his deal, and it was their last chance to make money on him. Tottenham picked him up for an initial £55million, with another £10m in potential add-ons.

Put those four deals together — Richarlison, Maddison, Johnson and Solanke — and it establishes a clear pattern. Spurs are not afraid to pay fees that used to be far beyond them for proven Premier League talent. Especially when they know the selling club, for whatever reason, are not in much of a position to resist.

While it may be tempting to suggest these players (and Bissouma) have sometimes flattered to deceive at Tottenham, it is worth remembering all bar Maddison started that Europa League final, and all played a part in that long-overdue trophy win.

Remember too that there is precedent for a strategy like this.

Liverpool — the Premier League’s best case study in how to spend money smartly — built some of the foundations for their recent successes on the signings of players who had been relegated from the Premier League: Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle United in 2016, Andy Robertson from Hull City the year after. Sadio Mane — who Spurs also wanted — came in from mid-table Southampton.

But given what we have seen from Tottenham in the past three years, it should perhaps be no surprise that they started their summer by targeting Kudus, given how valuable that money would be to West Ham in the market. And even the move for Gibbs-White, if unexpected, was still consistent with that strategy. Of course, they certainly might have added more established players than they did last summer, and the struggles of the team to compete on multiple fronts can be attributed in part to the fact that Solanke was their only experienced signing.

And transfer fees are not the same thing as wage bills, and it is in salary terms that Spurs have lost ground relative to their rivals in recent years. Even though the club has spent more on fees than ever before, some observers have pointed to the reduced wage bill as being at least as important.

Maybe this window is an attempt to make up for all that, to give new head coach Thomas Frank the tools to compete on multiple fronts. And to give the fans players they do not need to look up in advance.

(Top photo of Gibbs-White and Kudus; Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey is of interest to Nottingham Forest.

Forest’s interest in Ramsey comes with Tottenham Hotspur bidding for their attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.

The Athletic previously reported that Tottenham pushed to get Ramsey last summer but could not complete a deal.

The 24-year-old is a Villa academy graduate, representing pure bookable profit for the West Midlands club if he is sold. While Ramsey’s salary is manageable, a sale would further help Villa in their battle to reduce their wage bill below 70 per cent of overall turnover, complying with UEFA’s guidelines and, in July, Villa were fined by UEFA for breaching its financial rules. At the start of the summer, Villa’s wage bill stood in the mid-eighties, though have been gradually trimming this figure since.

However, Ramsey would serve as ‘club-trained’, which Villa need when registering players in this season’s squad for their Europa League campaign. It remains to be seen as to whether Villa would sanction a sale, with Unai Emery a firm advocate of the midfielder’s ability and the club wanting to move on other players, such as Alex Moreno, Leander Dendoncker and Leon Bailey.

Ramsey made his league debut in September 2020 as a 19-year-old and has made 167 senior appearances for Villa. Last season, the Englishman played 45 games across all competitions. He registered one goal and five assists over 29 appearances in the Premier League, having struggled with injuries.

The Athletic reported on July 10 that Forest midfielder Gibbs-White was set for a medical at Tottenham, in line to follow wingers Anthony Elanga and Ramon Sosa leaving the club this summer.

‘Ramsey would perfectly fit Forest’s recruitment model’

Analysis by Nottingham Forest correspondent Paul Taylor

Forest’s need to bolster their attacking arsenal was already increased by the £52m sale of Elanga to Newcastle.

Although it is Gibbs-White who Ramsey would be more of a replacement for. It remains to be seen whether Gibbs-White will complete a move to London, after Forest were upset by the manner of Tottenham’s £60m bid for their most influential player.

But the versatile attacking player, who can play wide on the left or in the number 10 role that Gibbs-White has made his own, would perfectly fit Forest’s recruitment model, as a relatively young player who would still improve.

Ramsey was on the radar of England manager Thomas Tuchel last season and playing regular football at Forest could aid his international ambitions.

The fact that he can play in more than one position would also be an important factor for head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, who values such attributes in his players.

Forest have already bolstered their options in the final third with the addition of Igor Jesus from Botafogo, while they remain keen on Brentford’s Yoane Wissa.

But Ramsey could also be an astute addition, if the club can get a deal over the line.

(Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have signed winger Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United in a deal worth around £55million ($74.7m). The 24-year-old has signed a six-year contract.

As part of this summer’s transfer coverage on The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals.

Give me his backstory in 100 words…

Kudus was born in Ghana and trained at the Right to Dream Academy, which has a direct pipeline to several professional clubs — including Danish Superliga side Nordsjaelland (FCN), who Kudus joined in 2018, aged 17.

In two seasons in Denmark, the forward made 57 appearances across all competitions, scoring 14 goals. He signed for Ajax ahead of the 2020-21 season and spent three seasons with the Dutch side, scoring 27 times in 87 appearances — a total limited by injury problems. West Ham signed Kudus in summer 2023 and he made 80 appearances in two seasons, scoring 19 goals and registering 13 assists.

Cerys Jones

What should and shouldn’t I expect to see?

Kudus’ game is characterised by dribbling. He likes to take players on and is extremely difficult to dispossess. He can hold the ball up and his movement off it is smart, too. In terms of position, expect him to primarily play on the wing, although he has played across the front line and midfield.

One caveat: don’t expect him to successfully finish every chance. His percentage of shots on target is relatively low, so while he can create plenty for himself and his team-mates, it might require some patience to see the end-product.

Cerys Jones

How will he fit in tactically?

Tottenham’s new head coach Thomas Frank will relish having a player as dynamic as Kudus among his options for a variety of reasons.

Chief among them is the Ghanaian’s explosive ability in one-v-one situations. Boasting quick feet and a rapid change of direction, Kudus’ 7.2 take-ons attempted per 90 minutes played trailed only Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku in the Premier League last season.

This should help Spurs break down stubborn low-blocks, but his ball-carrying is an invaluable tool in transition.

They scored 10 goals from fast breaks last season, second only to champions Liverpool (14). While it’s unlikely Frank will maintain the gung-ho, helter-skelter style of Ange Postecoglou, it’s clear that counter-attacking at speed is one of this squad’s collective strengths, and Kudus’ ability will only help amplify this.

Conor O’Neill

What’s his injury record?

As mentioned, Kudus’ Ajax career was peppered with enforced absences. A knee injury kept him out from October 2020 to February 2021 (bar a 10-minute cameo in the January), he missed the beginning of the 2021-22 season with an ankle issue, before a fractured rib ruled him out again from November to February. He was also absent for four games in the following campaign because of a hamstring problem.

Since moving to the Premier League, though, none of those injuries have reoccurred.

Cerys Jones

Someone who knows him says…

Flemming Pedersen, technical director and former first-team manager at Nordsjaelland, told The Athletic in 2023: “He always stayed behind after training, because he had that desire to improve his goalscoring record. I demanded that he improve his offensive ability and I’ve noticed he’s become a lot more clinical with his finishing.

“The most important thing is to give him a lot of trust, and then you get the best version of Kudus. I didn’t try and control him when I was his manager. I tried to get closer to Kudus the person, so he could express himself on the pitch. Just through that extra bit of love, he started doing amazing things with the ball. He played with freedom. Performance-wise, he’s one of the best players I’ve worked with.”

Cerys Jones

What do we know about the finances of the deal?

Kudus has joined Tottenham on a six-year contract, which expires in June 2031. Spurs are paying West Ham around £55million — a big saving on the £85m release clause that was in place should any Premier League club have wished to sign the player before July 10.

Chris Weatherspoon

What impact will this have on both clubs’ PSR calculation?

Assuming agent fees of 10 per cent, plus a four per cent transfer levy, Kudus’ signing will add £12.2million to Spurs’ amortisation costs in 2025-26, then a further £12.5m annually until the end of the 2029-30 season.

Just a further £309,000 will then be booked into their 2030-31 figures, despite Kudus’ contract running to the end of that season. This is a by-product of Premier League (and UEFA) rules, which only allow clubs to spread transfer fees across a maximum of five years.

There will therefore be a disconnect between amortisation costs in Tottenham’s annual accounts and their respective PSR calculations. In the former, Kudus will cost £10.5million annually — £2m per year less than in their PSR (profitability and sustainability rules) submissions.

In total, across the fee paid to West Ham and associated costs, Kudus will set Spurs back an estimated £62.7million. That’s without including his weekly wages. The total cost of buying and employing the Ghana international over his full contract term will almost certainly exceed £100m.

Kudus’ West Ham contract wasn’t due to expire until June 2028, and his estimated book value at the club (again, after some assumed agent fees and the applicable transfer levy when buying him from Ajax two years ago) is estimated at £26.6million.

As reported by The Athletic at the time of that deal, Ajax secured a sell-on clause on Kudus of 10 per cent of West Ham’s future profit. There’s not a huge amount between Spurs’ fee and the money spent to take him to the London Stadium two years ago, so we project the Amsterdam side will bank between £1million and £2m.

Deducting Ajax’s share leaves West Ham’s profit on the deal at around the £27million mark. That’s a good amount, but the east Londoners don’t appear in need of PSR-related boosts, so it’s unlikely this sale has been sanctioned with that as the driving reason; they booked £57m in profit in 2023-24, a figure which remains in their PSR calculation in 2025-26.

Chris Weatherspoon

(Top photo: Alex Broadway/Getty Images)