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Kudus became Spurs’ third major signing - after Mathys Tel and Kota Takai - under new head coach Thomas Frank as his £55m transfer from West Ham was finalised on Thursday.

In the announcement video on Tottenham’s official X account, formerly Twitter, a statement reads: “He only wanted Spurs. Welcome to North London, Mohammed Kudus.”

This is perhaps in relation to the Ghana international being linked with a move to Chelsea, in particular, prior to sealing a switch to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Nevertheless, Kudus is delighted with the move, citing the chance to develop under Frank was one of the key reasons behind his decision to join Spurs.

He said: “One of the most important parts of why I came here is the project and how the manager sees it, and to develop under him.

“With the history of where he’s come from, I’ve seen the amount of talent he’s developed to become great players. It’s a big sign of why I wanted to work under him as well.

“I’m very team-orientated so my personal goals are around helping the team get as many points as we can, to be as high as we can in the Premier League and perform really well and go as far as we can in the Champions League.”

Kudus is coming off a mixed season with West Ham where he only scored five Premier League goals in 32 appearances. Though he is eager to show Spurs fans the best of him.

“I’m a very direct winger, strong, very good in taking players on and creating chances, so there is a lot of flair in my game,” he added.

“I like to entertain the fans as well. That’s what football is about – it’s putting a memory in the heads of the fans that they have when they go back home, and after the money they’ve spent to buy a ticket.

“Although there is also a lot of seriousness and competitiveness in the game, I still think it’s a sport I try to enjoy as much as I can and give the fans something to enjoy too.

The Ghana international was officially unveiled as a Spurs player on Wednesday after a £55m deal was agreed with London rivals West Ham earlier in the week.

Kudus has impressed in the Premier League ever since arriving in England from Ajax a couple of summers ago, scoring 13 goals and weighing in with 12 assists in 65 appearances.

Linked with a move to Chelsea this summer, Kudus has explained why Spurs were the only club for him.

“One of the most important parts of why I came here is the project and how the manager sees it, and to develop under him,” he said. “With the history of where he’s come from, I’ve seen the amount of talent he’s developed to become great players.

“I’m very team-orientated so my personal goals are around helping the team get as many points as we can, to be as high as we can in the Premier League and perform really well and go as far as we can in the Champions League.”

Now, it has been confirmed that Kudus will wear No20 for Tottenham, which had previously been worn by Fraser Forster prior to his release at the end of last month.

Kudus had the same number at Ajax and he often wears No20 for the Ghana national team, although he wore No14 throughout his two seasons at the London Stadium.

The 23-year-old isn’t expected to be the final arrival at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer as the club have activated Morgan Gibbs-White's £60m release clause in his Nottingham Forest contract.

The winger becomes the fifth arrival of the Thomas Frank reign in north London after Spurs agreed a £55million deal with the Hammers.

Kudus had initially reported back for pre-season in east London, but the move materialised quickly and he now finds himself a new home in the capital.

The Ghanaian signed for West Ham back in 2023 from Ajax for £38m, and he made 32 appearances in the top flight last term, scoring five and assisting three times.

Kudus also becomes the first player since Scott Parker in 2011 to make the move from West Ham to Spurs.

Standard Sport previously reported that Kudus had an £85m release clause in his contract at the London Stadium for English clubs, although Tottenham have managed to negotiate the fee down.

Spurs were handed a boost when Ghana failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations this winter, which means that they won’t lose Kudus mid-season, unlike many top clubs, who will be forced to let some of their star names depart to take part in the tournament.

Tottenham will avoid the disruption of losing Mohammed Kudus to the Africa Cup of Nations next season.

Spurs are closing in on a £55million deal to sign Kudus from West Ham and the forward is due to undergo a medical on Thursday.

Kudus is set to become the first player to join Spurs from West Ham since Scott Parker in 2011, and Thomas Frank will be boosted by having him available all next season.

Ghana's shock failure to qualify for AFCON means Kudus will not feature at the tournament which runs for around four weeks between December and January.

That will be good news for Spurs at a time when Liverpool will lose Mohamed Salah, Manchester City will lose Omar Marmoush, Chelsea will lose Nicolas Jackson and Manchester United could lose Bryan Mbeumo should be join from Brentford.

Kudus managed only four goals in all competitions last season and served a five-game ban after being sent off against Spurs in October, when he clashed with Micky van de Ven and Pape Sarr.

But Spurs have targeted the 24-year-old as Frank bids to strengthen his forward line.

West Ham were prepared to sell Kudus, who was deemed their most sellable asset, and his exit is set to kick-start their summer transfer plans as Graham Potter plots new signings.

Spurs have also explored a move for Brentford striker Yoane Wissa, who is valued at £50m.

The new head coach made a key demand during the interview process

Genie: Thomas Frank and Johan Lange

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Thomas Frank says Tottenham granted his “big wish” of appointing a specialist individual coach to his backroom team.

Frank has finished assembling his coaching staff at Spurs after being hired this summer to replace Ange Postecoglou.

Among those brought in to work with Frank is Cameron Campbell, who takes up the role of ‘first team individual development coach’.

Frank has revealed he pushed for the appointment as he believes it is an area underutilised by clubs and Spurs can benefit from it.

“We have added Cameron Campbell, that is an individual coach, big on how we develop the players,” said Frank.

“And that was a big wish from both Johan [Lange, Spurs’ technical director] and I, and it is something we talked about, that we thought was crucial.

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“I think not many clubs have actually nailed that. We tried in the past, so hopefully we can take it to the next level.”

Training: Brandon Austin and Cameron Campbell

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Frank will have three assistants at Tottenham, with Andreas Georgson and Justin Cochrane joining Matt Wells.

Cochrane and Georgson both worked with Frank at Brentford, while Wells remains in his post after being part of Postecoglou’s coaching team.

“Justin Cochrane comes from Brentford, who worked with me before,” said Frank.

“He will be in charge of the offensive part of the game and then some training planning, and get that running smoothly.

“Then we have got Andreas Georgson from Man United, but I also worked with him previously at Brentford. He will be assistant coach, but a main focus on set-pieces and restarts.

“Then we have Matt Wells, who will be responsible for the defensive part of the game and also contribute to training.

“I think the way they have split the roles is really good in covering all the abilities we would like to have.”

Back at it: Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro in Tottenham training

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Tottenham have begun pre-season training after the first group of players returned last weekend for testing.

Those involved in international matches last month are not back yet, with Frank excited to get the whole group together before a friendly with Reading next week.

“I want everyone in, really compare them against each other,” Frank added. “See how the mix is, how is the relationship.

“Of course, I know the group in terms of looking from the outside - but it is different when you are on the inside and you work with them, you feel them, you understand them better.

“And we all have our own views on certain players or relationships, and it is up to me to find that perfect combination that makes the team perform on the highest possible level.

“It has been good [so far]. We had the first session on grass today, a lot of testing on Saturday.

“So it has been good to have them out. That’s the fun bit, that is where we try to effect things - good effort, good mentality, happy.”

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Alejo Veliz will leave Tottenham on loan for a third time since he joined the club back in 2023.

The Argentine was bought by the north Londoners from Rosario Central two years ago on a six-year deal worth around £13million.

However, the striker has failed to make an impact at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and has since been shipped out temporarily twice.

First, the now-21-year-old moved to Sevilla, although he made just six appearances for the La Liga outfit, not scoring any goals.

Next, he was at Espanyol, where he played 24 times, but scored just the once.

Now, he finds himself moving back to his home country, returning to Rosario for a third spell away from Spurs.

Veliz became Rosario’s record sale when he moved to England in 2023, and he returns to the club with a point to prove and a goalscoring knack to rediscover.

In 59 games for Central, he scored 19 times, and he has three goals in eight appearances for Argentina’s under-20 side.

There is no buy clause for Rosario to trigger should they wish to bring Veliz back permanently, although it would appear that the forward does not have a future in north London.

Thomas Frank took over as Spurs’ new head coach from Ange Postecoglou earlier this summer, and while Veliz reported back to Spurs’ training ground for pre-season, he is not in the Dane’s plans.

“Having joined us from the Primera Division side in August, 2023, Alejo has made eight senior appearances in our colours to date, scoring once.

Takai is regarded as one of Japan’s most promising talents, and was named Japan’s Young Player of the Year in 2024. Still just 20 years old, he already has four senior international caps to his name and is expected to play a first-team role under Thomas Frank next season.

Speaking publicly for the first time since signing, the defender highlighted his positional versatility and wealth of early-career experience as his best attributes.

"My position is centre-back,” he explained, speaking in his native Japanese via Tottenham’s Instagram page. “I can play either side - right or left.”

He was promoted to Kawasaki Frontale’s first team in 2022, debuting in an 8-0 win over Guangzhou shortly after. Already with 60 senior league appearances to his name - the most recent of which came just three days ago - he is prepared to hit the ground running in N17.

"I played in the match with Kawasaki Frontale in the J-League on Saturday and I got on the plane the next day and I'm here today, now.

He added that the J-League’s quality had prepared him well for life in England: "The J-League has very high intensity, and its level is high. I won the Young Player Award last year and I was very happy.

“I joined Team Japan. It was always my dream. I remember I had goosebumps when I went on the pitch for the first team as part of the national team.”

A lifelong Premier League fan, he is looking forward to making his Lilywhites debut, which could come as early as next Saturday as Spurs face Reading in their first preseason friendly.

"I've always watched the Premier League a lot, since I was little. At Spurs, my first aim is to be on the pitch for a match and do my best.

"I was born in Kanagawa, Japan. I've always played football since my childhood. The reason why I love football is because as a team we can improve our skills together.”

The arrivals of assistants Justin Cochrane, Chris Haslam and Andreas Georgson and analyst Joe Newton had previously been confirmed by the club, shortly after Frank's appointment last month.

While negotiating the terms under which he would join Spurs, Frank was said to be adamant that Cochrane follow him to Hotspur Way despite Brentford being keen to make the England coach their full-time manager.

Cochrane, who is extremely highly rated, instead opted to continue working with Frank and, in doing so, return to the club where he spent time with the academy.

Matt Wells, who served under Ange Postecoglou, will remain at the club as another first-team assistant coach to Frank.

Spurs have now also confirmed the appointments of Fabian Otte as first-team goalkeeper coach, who has left Liverpool, and Cameron Campbell as first-team individual development coach from RB Leipzig.

Frank will also be supported by Stuart Lewis and Dean Brill, who have been promoted from roles with the Academy. Stuart will serve as first-team academy transition coach, while Dean will assist Otte as goalkeeping coach.

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The second summer transfer window is heating up nicely now we’ve entered July, with plenty of major deals being worked on. Arsenal are rumoured to have bid for Noni Madueke at Chelsea amid talks over a huge move for Eberechi Eze, having also taken an interest in Hugo Ekitike amid the ongoing stalemate over Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres. The Gunners are said to have made a new offer for Cristhian Mosquera amid fresh links to Nico Williams and Morgan Rogers, with Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga all joining.

Manchester United are believed to have made contact over Ollie Watkins in case Rasmus Hojlund leaves, though been warned that Bryan Mbeumo could yet stay at Brentford. Chelsea are preparing to seal the signings of both Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens after medicals, though it appears that will not stop them from rivalling Tottenham for a cut-price deal for West Ham star Mohammed Kudus.

Liverpool look to have been handed a major new boost over Alexander Isak as they enter advanced talks over Marc Guehi and also look at Ekitike and Victor Osimhen, while Richarlison is poised to leave Spurs. Follow the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip live below!

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