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Tottenham are keen on signing 28-year-old Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay from Napoli. (Teamtalk), external

However, they are unlikely to sign Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 33, from Barcelona in January. (Teamtalk), external

Meanwhile, Spurs and Chelsea showed serious interest in Morgan Rogers, 23, during the summer, butAston Villa are currently holding talks with the England attacking midfielder over a new contract. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Spurs' effectiveness from set-pieces so far this season should come as no surprise.

This is not about hopeful balls into the box or copying the latest trend. This is about Thomas Frank being a details man who surrounds himself with equally technically and tactically astute staff.

While we scored 11 times from set-pieces last season, we have already produced five goals from them under Frank.

In direct contrast to his predecessor, Frank not only understands the technical and tactical detail of set-pieces, but he also believes passionately in their importance - an opinion that has changed during his career, as he has progressed to different clubs and developed his way of coaching.

When you are trying to build something new with people who you are still getting to know, it is a common human and coaching behaviour to go with what you know. Frank knows set-pieces and, perhaps more significantly, he knows an expert in them - Andreas Georgson.

Georgson helped Frank turn Brentford into set-piece specialists during their time together at the club, so when the Swede was also recruited to Spurs in the summer, it made sense that becoming better at attacking and defending set-pieces would be a priority.

Kevin Danso famously won the long throw-in competition in pre-season and is already causing chaos with it in this campaign. Micky van de Ven, someone with exceptional speed, was identified as a player who should be making more of his height and build to really bully opponents at both ends of the pitch. Both were excellent against Everton on Sunday.

Clearly, Spurs cannot rely on set-pieces alone. However, while Frank continues to improve the system so that our attacking players can flourish, being a force to be reckoned with from set-pieces is another valuable layer in a set of increasingly promising foundations.

Ange Postecoglou, sacked after just eight games in charge of Nottingham Forest, is the bookmakers' favourite to replace the departed Brendan Rodgers and return to the Celtic manager's hotseat. (The Scotsman), external

Only an hour or so before news broke that Brendan Rodgers had walked away from Celtic for a second time, the manager was still exchanging text messages and giving absolutely no indication that he was writing a letter of resignation at the same time. (Daily Record), external

Jimmy Thelin's job as Aberdeen manager is safe, with newly appointed sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel's first job being to help the Swede improve results rather than sack him. (Daily Record), external

Steven Davis and Neil McCann are in a two-way fight to become Danny Rohl's right-hand man in Rangers' dugout as the new head coach looks to add a former Ibrox player to work alongside fellow Germans Sascha Lense and Matthias Kaltenbach. (Daily Record), external

Former Rangers manager Michael Beale has pinpointed Ross Wilson's departure for Nottingham Forest as a key moment when it "became difficult" at Rangers because he struggled with working without a sporting director. (Coaches Voice), external

Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur: League Cup stats & head-to-head  BBC

Frank confirmed it was "all good" for the players that featured in Tottenham's win against Everton on Sunday and added: "Dom [Solanke] stepped forward, step by step. Cuti [Cristian Romero] on the pitch today, not a timeframe. Destiny [Udogie] on the pitch as well today, so three steps forward."

On being better away from home: "It's a relatively small sample. Hopefully at the end of the year it's fantastic away and home. It's a team that's still finding each other, the way we're building we have 14 games with one bad performance against Bournemouth, second half against Wolves and second half against Monaco. In general we're building."

He said it is "very clear that we are in this game because we love it" when asked whether trophies were set as a target when he took over, adding: "At a club like Tottenham, we do everything we can to win. We're trying to win every tournament we're playing in. Playing against a strong team [in Newcastle], the holders, it's a very difficult place to play but we'll do everything to compete, win and progress."

The Spurs boss added: "To get to win a trophy, that's very difficult. To sustain it is even harder, but that's the aim. The players here had a fantastic experience last year and are very eager to win again. We are going for it."

On defender Micky van de Ven: "He's been brilliant for the club since he signed. He's taken his game up a level, he's still very good on the ball and he added headed goals. He's a threat from set-pieces. We have a good contract for him but definitely a player with a big future here."

He said the team's set-piece coach Andreas Georgson "is doing a top job" and that his players are "really committed" to improving in this area: "We need to be good in every aspects of the game, but set pieces have created a third of all goals I think. So not to spend time on it, be super-focused on details, then defending and attacking those is a major strength and I'm really happy with how we are doing there."

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.

Here are some of your comments:

Everton fans

Mark: We just lack a goalscoring striker. Beto works hard, just not good enough, and we were poor defensively from corners.

Simon: This result is a pretty fair reflection of where the team is at, which is miles off the top half of the league. Until we can start playing through balls behind the opposition defence, we will continue to be an easy team to defend against. We have first-class wingers, but our nine and 10 offer nothing through the middle.

Mike: Everton have become so predictable, and teams have sussed us out very quickly. We are far too slow and ponderous; it's easy to defend.

Ted: We were awful. No centre forward. No creativity. Grealish tried, but was not supported by anyone.

Tottenham fans

Andy: Although we are now riding high in the league, I just can't get excited about this team or its manager. Frank is perfectly content letting the opposition dictate, playing all the positive football whilst we play on the back foot, passing sideways and backwards when we have the ball; hoping at some point to score from a set piece.

Frank: Much better performance. Defence is good, central midfield is excellent. Sarr seems to have an eye for goal play as a forward. As Frank says, it is about building layers, and we need to get the four forwards working with pace. Enjoyed the game.

Supporters like their team to have an identity, and I can already see one at Tottenham under Thomas Frank after less than 10 league games.

At the moment they are a side which is well drilled with a tremendous work ethic and is difficult to beat, and not obsessed with playing out from the back and giving away stupid chances.

I'd also say they are reasonably pragmatic and rely heavily on set-plays, as we saw in their 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday, but there is nothing wrong with that.

Lots of other teams are the same and Spurs have got some big players to aim at, and others who can provide a good delivery.

At the moment it does feel like they are looking for individual brilliance from their forward players in open play to provide the magic moments in games, rather than a system to play through the opposition.

I look at them and think Mohammed Kudus needs some help in that respect, but that help is coming.

The biggest reason I think they will improve, however, is Frank himself.

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is not impressed with Dominic Solanke, 28, and could look to sell the England striker in January. (Football Insider), external

Bournemouth rejected bids of £50m from Tottenham and Manchester United for 25-year-old Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo in the summer. (Telegraph), external

Tottenham are tracking Porto's 21-year-old Samu Aghehowa, but face competition from Arsenal, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest for the Spain forward. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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It's a breath of fresh air to see teams like Bournemouth and Sunderland exceeding expectations at the top of the Premier League - and I would include Tottenham in that list of over-achievers too.

There has been the odd disappointing performance under Thomas Frank, especially at home, but I don't think anyone thought it would be easy for him to quickly transition this squad into a team in his image - and not many Spurs fans would have expected them to be sitting in third place now.

I know there has still been some criticism from their supporters, especially with calls for more creativity in open play, and I can understand that, but sometimes you have to walk before you can run.

The glaring problems they had last season were conceding too many goals and being too easy to play against, and I'm sure when Frank arrived at Tottenham he thought, 'let's fix that first'.

He's done that, because if you look at their progress from the beginning of the season up until now, then one thing we can all say is that you can see the 'Thomas Frank effect'.

Yes, there have been times in games when they have looked a bit one-dimensional in what they are trying to do with the ball, and they have relied a lot on some magic from Mohammed Kudus to make chances out of nothing.

But I am confident we will see an improvement in that attacking element of their game when some of their injured players come back, firstly Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke and, longer-term, James Maddison as well.

So, while it's not been perfect so far, there is a lot of positive energy around what Frank is doing, and also a lot to look forward to.

Spurs have probably got the strongest squad they have had in a while, they are picking up points without playing brilliantly, and they are sitting in a really good place in the table, with some really strong reinforcements to come in.

It is still very early, but Frank has made a brilliant start in turning around a squad that had been depleted in confidence, and I feel like there is lots more to come.

Supporters like their team to have an identity, and I can already see one at Spurs under Frank after less than 10 league games.

At the moment they are a side which is well drilled with a tremendous work ethic and is difficult to beat, and not obsessed with playing out from the back and giving away stupid chances.

I'd also say they are reasonably pragmatic and rely heavily on set-plays, as we saw in their 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday, but there is nothing wrong with that.

Lots of other teams are the same and Spurs have got some big players to aim at, and others who can provide a good delivery.

At the moment it does feel like they are looking for individual brilliance from their forward players in open play to provide the magic moments in games, rather than a system to play through the opposition.

I look at them and think Kudus needs some help in that respect, but that help is coming.

The biggest reason I think they will improve, however, is Frank himself.

I don't believe Tottenham's​ current identity is set in stone because we saw how Brentford evolved under him over a number of seasons and he is only just getting started here.

When they first came into the Premier League, Brentford had a very direct style and were also quite obvious or predictable in what they did.

If you watched them last season, though, it was a totally different approach. They played out from the back through Christian Norgaard and although they could mix it up, they were not a one-trick pony.

This Tottenham team is going to evolve too, but first and foremost Frank has given them a solid base like he had early on at Brentford. For example, with the way their full-backs stay at home a little bit more, rather than flying up the pitch like they did under Ange Postecoglou.

We saw that on Sunday, where again Spurs got a bit of criticism for sitting back and inviting Everton on to them in the second half.

There were times when I was thinking to myself, 'come on, get out of your half because you are putting yourself under pressure', but you have to consider what had gone before that game.

Spurs had gone away from home in the Champions League on Wednesday and hung on for dear life for a draw against Monaco.

Eventually, Frank will have to find the balance between being a front-footed attacking side that the fans enjoy watching and one that wins games because they are difficult to play against.

That's something Tottenham have always struggled to find, which is the reason they have had so many changes of manager - Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were one extreme, and Postecoglou was the other.

But going from what we saw at Brentford, I think Frank will give the fans the type of football they want as well as delivering results.

He's got a much better squad at Spurs than he ever had with Brentford, so it's naive to think this team won't progress and become easier on the eye - I believe they will, 100%.

Danny Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.