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Thomas Frank has now addressed Tottenham’s captaincy decision ahead of their pre-season opener against Reading at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

The Thomas Frank era is set to kick off on the field tomorrow when Tottenham Hotspur take on Reading in what will be their first pre-season clash and game under the Dane.

Kick-off is scheduled for 3 pm UK time, giving Spurs fans the chance to watch their side in action for the first time since the final day of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

With it being a pre-season clash, team selection is expected to be chaotic, with potentially 22 different players likely to feature over the course of the 90 minutes.

Thomas Frank says Heung-min Son and Cristian Romero will captain Tottenham vs Reading

Frank has now confirmed in his first press conference as Tottenham boss that he is yet to decide who will be the club’s full-time captain moving forward, ahead of the clash at the Select Car Leasing Stadium in Reading.

The 51-year-old manager stated that he could very much field two different elevens in either half, and while he has not yet finalised his choice of first-team captain, he revealed that both Heung-min Son and Cristian Romero will wear the armband during Saturday’s friendly.

Heung-min Son has worn the armband for Tottenham Hotspur for the past two seasons, supported by Cristian Romero and James Maddison, who served as vice-captains during Ange Postecoglou’s tenure.

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However, Frank reiterated that the decision has not yet been made, while confirming Son and Romero will share captaincy duties in the match.

He told football.london: “Good question. I have not decided on that yet. I have a long list of bullet points to get through. He was captain last season, and tomorrow we will have two 45 minutes, and Son and Romero will be the captains in both. I have not decided on the captain yet.”

Spurs boss Frank highlights importance of Son and Romero

The 51-year-old was also quick to hand out praise to both sets of players, highlighting Son for finally ending his long wait for silverware at Tottenham, and describing Cristian Romero, who is a World Cup and Copa America winner, as equally vital to the squad.

Romero has been the subject of transfer uncertainty this summer, but reports have claimed that Frank is keen on keeping the Argentine defender as part of his plans moving forward.

While speculation around the futures of both Son and Romero has cooled, with Atletico Madrid turning their attention elsewhere and Son reportedly looking to stay at Hotspur Way for at least one more season, Frank made clear just how highly he values both players.

He continued: “Two top players, Sonny has been here for 10 years and finally got his well-deserved trophy in the summer. Cristian Romero, World Cup winner, Copa America winner twice, very important for us. Both have trained well and set the standards. Both will play tomorrow and I am very happy.”

Thomas Frank was asked to publicly address the ongoing Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga in his first Tottenham press conference, but his response may not surprise Spurs fans.

It has been very well reported that Tottenham Hotspur are far from done in the transfer market, despite completing the signing of four players thus far.

Of course, Kevin Danso’s signing was very much expected as Spurs had an obligation to make the move permanent following his winter move last season under Ange Postecoglou.

New boss Thomas Frank has been busy as well, as three of the four Spurs signings have been done under his watch, with Mathys Tel joining permanently, alongside Kota Takai and Mohammed Kudus.

Frank splashed the cash to lure Kudus to Hotspur Way, making the Ghanaian the fourth most expensive signing in the history of Tottenham, after his £55million move from West Ham United.

In less than 48 hours, Frank looked to have gone big once more, as Spurs triggered the £60 million release clause in Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White contract, with a medical scheduled for 11 July.

However, the Gibbs-White to Tottenham transfer has since been delayed, as Forest are said to have taken legal action against Spurs over what they believe was an illegal approach to their player, claiming the release clause was a secret one.

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Both sides are yet to reach an agreement, which has left Spurs fans frustrated, with several calling for the Lilywhites to move on and explore other options.

Spurs head coach Thomas Frank, speaking to the media, has refused to address the transfer saga. He told Football.London: “You know me well, so I will use what I’ve always said, and that is that I won’t speak about players from outside the club.”

Spurs still hopeful as Gibbs-White saga drags on

Gibbs-White did impress last season, with the midfielder grabbing 17 goal contributions, scoring seven times and assisting ten in the Premier League.

Thomas Frank is said to be a big admirer of Gibbs-White, with his interest in the 25-year-old dating back to his time in charge of Brentford and when the midfielder was still at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

It has been reported that an end to the saga is near, with a timeline of this week given as the internal deadline Tottenham have set to finalise proceedings.

Luton Town are now in the final stages of securing a move for Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Josh Keeley, with a deal understood to be worth a very small amount of money.

Tottenham Hotspur were reportedly working on a new contract for one of their standout loan players last season, Josh Keeley.

The 22-year-old shot stopper impressed last term with Leyton Orient, being named the O’s young player of the season, while also leading them to the promotion play-off, although he suffered defeat at the hands of Charlton Athletic.

However, Tottenham’s efforts to reach an agreement with the goalkeeper look to have fallen through, as reports from yesterday claim that Josh Keeley is in talks with Luton Town over a move to EFL League One.

Luton finalise deal to sign Tottenham goalkeeper Josh Keeley

It was revealed that Luton Town and Tottenham are in advanced talks over a deal for Josh Keeley and that Spurs have included a sell-on clause in the deal for the 22-year-old, as they believe he could develop into a Premier League-level goalkeeper.

Keeley did impress last season, keeping 16 clean sheets in the League with Leyton Orient. He also delivered standout performances in the FA Cup, including scoring a goal in the second round against Oldham.

New reports from Sky Sports have now confirmed what was previously reported, stating that Luton are finalising a deal to sign Tottenham goalkeeper Josh Keeley.

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The publication further reveals that the fee is understood to be £1m and a straight transfer with no buy-back clause.

Spurs let Josh Keeley leave with goalkeeping depth secured

Of course, Keeley is one of the top youngsters to have come through the Spurs academy, having joined back in 2022.

The 22-year-old never made a senior appearance for the Tottenham first team, but featured 32 times for the Under-21s before securing a move to Leyton Orient.

Tottenham are very well covered in the goalkeeping department, with three options pretty much lined up – Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky and Brandon Austin.

Transfer market expert Graeme Bailey has revealed that Tottenham can sign a Thomas Frank favourite at a £10m discount, but they will have to see off competition from four other clubs to land the forward.

It emerged last week that Tottenham had begun talks with Brentford over a deal for Wissa, but it does not appear that the North Londoners have made much progress on that deal.

That could potentially be down to the fact that Spurs are focused on getting the Morgan Gibbs-White deal over the line after Nottingham Forest accused the North Londoners of illegally tapping up the player.

In the meantime, the competition for the Brentford star appears to have intensified, with reports now claiming that Newcastle could enter the race to land Wissa.

It turns out that the Magpies are not the only ones Tottenham Hotspur need to worry about in their efforts to land the Bees star.

Tottenham battle four Premier League rivals for Yoane Wissa

It has been reported by some sources over recent days that Brentford are demanding £50m for Wissa, even though the 28-year-old is into the final year of his contract at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Graeme Bailey has now claimed that, according to industry sources, an offer of £40m would be enough to convince the West London side to sell the centre-forward.

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However, the journalist asserted that four other Premier League sides, apart from Spurs, have expressed an interest in the DR Congo international.

Bailey told TBR Football: “Newcastle are keeping a very close eye on Yoane Wissa. They like him an awful lot. Eddie Howe likes him.

“Brentford value Wissa at £50million, but within football, people expect him to go for less than £40million. That seems to be the belief from speaking to various clubs around the league.

“I’m also told that Wissa is talking to five Premier League clubs, three of which are Newcastle, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest. He’s got such great figures analytics-wise.

“He’s fit all the time, he can play a variety of positions… the clubs love him. And he’s ready to go. Clubs see him in different roles. Tottenham see him centrally, I think Newcastle do as well, while Forest would see him as out wide really.”

Why we might soon see Spurs accelerate their move for Wissa

It has been reported over the last 24 hours that Tottenham want to complete the signing of Gibbs-White within the next few days.

According to The Daily Mail, Gibbs-White himself has set Monday as the deadline for the move to Spurs, with the attacking midfielder keen on making a quick switch to N17.

Tottenham have released footage of new signing Kota Takai training with his teammates at Hotspur Way, and the centre-back seemed to do well in the fitness test and made a hilarious comment at the end of it.

Kota Takai got his work permit earlier this week and has begun pre-season training at Hotspur Way.

The 20-year-old arrives with a big reputation from J-League side Kawasaki Frontale, but he faces a major challenge in adapting to the intensity and pace of the Premier League.

Takai has set his sights on breaking into the Tottenham team, but that will be no easy task, given the abundance of options Thomas Frank has at his disposal.

Kota Takai gives a hilarious response after Tottenham fitness test

Football.London have poured through the training footage that Tottenham Hotspur released of Takai, and they spotted that a translator was following the defender.

However, they noted that the youngster did understand what the fitness coaches said to him and even responded in English, which suggests that he should not have any issues communicating with his new teammates.

Takai and his Tottenham teammates then had to do a 1km shuttle run, which had to be completed within three minutes and 15 seconds.

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The Japanese defender seemed to complete it faster than many of his teammates, which is not surprising given that he is in better physical condition right now, having arrived at Spurs in the middle of the J-League season.

Takai collapsed to the ground after finishing the test, and when the cameraman asked him: “How was that, Good?”, the centre-back shook his head and responded: “Not good”, with a smile.

Why Takai will have to be patient at Spurs this season

Takai can play on both sides of central defence, which makes him a valuable squad option for Frank to have.

However, the 20-year-old is not likely to get too much game time in his first few months at Spurs. Not only is he competing with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin, and Ben Davies, but also potentially with fellow youngsters Luka Vuskovic and Ashley Phillips.

One Tottenham player came close to matching Micky van de Ven’s astonishing speed last season – and the numbers from the Premier League prove it.

Micky van de Ven’s importance to Tottenham Hotspur has been plain to see in recent years since he signed for Tottenham back in 2023.

The Dutchman’s pace has been a crucial part of his game, as he often helps sweep up for the Lilywhites when they are under threat from a counterattack.

In fact, last season, no player had a higher top speed than Micky van de Ven, who was the quickest player in the Premier League.

Wilson Odobert among Premier League’s top 10 fastest players

While the Dutchman clocked a top speed of 37.12km/h, one Spurs player was not far off from him – Wilson Odobert.

The Premier League’s official website has now revealed the top ten fastest players from the Premier League last season, and two Tottenham players have featured on there.

Van de Ven comes in first, while in sixth place is last season’s summer signing Wilson Odobert, who clocked up a top speed of 36.36km/h, which is not too far off from Van de Ven’s 37.12 km/h, when running in the game against Aston Villa back in May.

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Wilson Odobert tipped for breakthrough season under Thomas Frank

Of course, Odobert is a player with immense potential, but injuries hampered his development at Tottenham in his first season, as he spent a lengthy spell on the sidelines last spell.

Tottenham would be hoping that this season, under Thomas Frank that Odobert would find his feet and some momentum in what would be a busy campaign for Spurs, who are set to feature in four different competitions, including the Champions League.

Thomas Frank has been warned that Mohammed Kudus at Tottenham could prove to be a ‘strange’ signing, with questions being raised on whether the Ghanaian forward has the mentality to thrive under the Dane’s no-nonsense approach.

Tottenham Hotspur were reported to have shown interest in Eberechi Eze, Antoine Semenyo and Bryan Mbeumo earlier this summer, before eventually securing the signing of Mohammed Kudus.

The Lilywhites saw three bids for Kudus rejected before finally having a fourth offer of £55 million accepted by West Ham United, who are currently in a position where they need to sell before making any new additions.

Kudus has settled in well at Hotspur Way and even looked sharp during his first training session with the Spurs squad, now under the guidance of new head coach Thomas Frank.

Perry Groves casts doubt over Mohammed Kudus signing at Tottenham

Kudus did struggle in his last season at West Ham United, with the wide man scoring just five goals in 32 Premier League appearances.

TalkSPORT pundit Perry Groves has now questioned the suitability of Mohammed Kudus for Tottenham Hotspur, suggesting the deal could be a strange one given the player’s inconsistent performances and perceived lack of discipline out of possession.

Groves further expressed concern over Kudus’ work ethic, claiming his attitude at West Ham United left much to be desired. According to him, that will not be tolerated by Thomas Frank, who is known for demanding a high work rate from his attackers.

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Speaking on TalkSPORT, Groves said: “Kudus has gone there, which I think is a bit of a strange signing. Because not last season, the season before, he had a good season. If you ask West Ham fans, they will not be crying their eyes out.

“I saw him a few times again, and his attitude was not great. Under Julen Lopetegui, and when Graham Potter went there, he played him out of position a few times as a false nine.

“But again, his reaction when he is going one versus using the ball, his reaction getting back and helping his team out was not great.

“Now, Thomas Frank will not stand for that whatsoever, but going forward, he can be exciting. The jury is out.”

How Kudus could improve under Thomas Frank at Spurs

Of course, it must be said that many players struggled at the Hammers during the 2024/25 campaign, as the team underperformed for large stretches of the league season, including Kudus.

However, new Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank arrives with a strong record of improving attackers, with Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa, Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins all thriving under his watch.

Mbeumo, for one, managed a career best 20 League goals last season at Brentford under Frank’s tutelage, and with the former Bees manager now at Spurs, new signing Kudus could improve his goalscoring output under the Dane as well.

Indeed, while Kudus does have elements of his game that require polishing, there are attributes he brings that would benefit Tottenham. His dribbling ability and pace, in particular, could offer the Lilywhites an added dimension in attack.

Tottenham’s £17m valuation of Yves Bissouma has reportedly led one interested party to reconsider their summer pursuit of the midfielder, with talks over a potential move now paused.

Yves Bissouma is a player who has been gathering a lot of interest from clubs in Europe, including Juventus and Fenerbahce.

It was reported that Fenerbahce were preparing a bid for Bissouma this summer, a bid in the region of £13 million.

Bissouma, who played 44 times for Tottenham last season, has just one year left on his current contract and should Spurs not sell him this summer, he could very well leave on a free next summer if he is not offered a new deal.

Juventus are said to want to use their relationship with Daniel Levy to land Bissouma this summer, but the Serie A giants also do not value the Spurs midfielder at £17m.

Fenerbahce stall talks after Tottenham demand £17m for Yves Bissouma

Fabrizio Romano has since poured cold water on reports of talks between Fenerbahce and Tottenham, with the transfer expert claiming that no offers have been made.

Yet, reports from Fanatik today state that Fenerbahce have now ‘stepped on the brakes’ after being informed by Tottenham that it would take an offer in the region of €20 million (around £17 million) to sign the 28-year-old.

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With Tottenham’s valuation deemed excessive by Fenerbahce, the Turkish side is now looking at alternative options for their midfield.

Spurs price tag forces Fenerbahce to look elsewhere

The Yellow Canaries are now said to be looking at other central midfield options, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka has emerged as a target.

The publication claims that Fenerbahce have held meetings with the former Arsenal player’s agent, although an offer has yet to be made.

Despite their interest in the Swiss international, the Turkish side is reported to have not entirely given up on signing Bissouma, with reports stating that they will continue to keep lines of communication open with Tottenham in the hope that Spurs eventually decide to soften their stance.

The Istanbul club have reportedly not yet tabled a formal bid for Bissouma and are expected to face competition from Juventus should they proceed.

Tottenham Hotspur’s long-standing interest in one Manchester City player refuses to go away, with fresh reports now linking the midfielder with a surprise loan move to north London.

Tottenham Hotspur’s depth in attack looks to be improving, particularly after the recent addition of versatile forward Mohammed Kudus.

Spurs could add more firepower to their squad should their bid for Morgan Gibbs-White go through, after all of their recent legal back-and-forth with Nottingham Forest.

Reports still indicate that the Lilywhites could be in for another forward and a midfielder should Spurs complete the signing of the former Wolves man.

Tottenham remain interested in Manchester City winger Jack Grealish

Tottenham have long been linked with a move for Jack Grealish, even prior to his £100 million switch to Manchester City.

Those links have not disappeared, as we reported on 9 June that Spurs still hold an interest in Grealish, who was left out of City’s Club World Cup squad as the former Premier League champions look set to offload him this summer.

Dean Jones, writing for Flashscore, has now revealed that Manchester City’s Grealish is the subject of loan interest this summer.

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Tottenham Hotspur are reported to still have genuine interest in the 29-year-old, alongside a host of other Premier League clubs.

While Spurs remain interested in the player, it remains to be seen whether they decide to go for him as an additional option in attack. Interest from abroad reportedly remains, though the likelihood of a move outside England is understood to be slim.

West Ham join Spurs in Jack Grealish pursuit as Man City consider loan

West Ham United, who Spurs poached Mohammed Kudus, are also in the running for the England international.

Dean Jones reports that the Hammers have made informal contact regarding Grealish’s situation, as they are exploring the possibility of signing the City winger before the new season begins.

Everton and Newcastle United are also said to have shown interest in the former Aston Villa man, but it remains to be seen whether either club will firm up their stance with a formal move.

It is claimed that a permanent transfer for the 29-year-old is unlikely, with City instead preferring to sanction a loan deal for the winger, who currently earns £300,000 a week.

Tottenham are keen to cash in on one Europa League winner before his contract runs out, but the midfielder has a preference to stay in the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma has been at the centre of transfer speculation throughout the summer window, with the club reportedly open to offloading him.

The Malian international featured 44 times across all competitions last season, scoring twice, but inconsistency plagued his campaign.

His performances saw him fall out of favour, with youngster Lucas Bergvall becoming a preferred option under former manager Ange Postecoglou in the latter stages of the season.

Interest in Bissouma has come from both Juventus and Fenerbahce, with the Turkish side reportedly weighing up a £13 million bid for the midfielder. However, Tottenham are understood to be holding out for a higher fee.

Tottenham expect Yves Bissouma to leave this summer

It is understood that Yves Bissouma wants to remain at Spurs next season; however, reports claim that the midfielder would be open to leaving Tottenham only if the right opportunity arises, ideally remaining within the Premier League.

According to GIVEMESPORT, Bissouma is still expected to seal a departure from the club this summer, even though he is not agitating for one. The club are now leaning towards parting ways with him as he enters the final 12 months of his current deal.

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Tottenham’s hierarchy does not want to risk losing Bissouma on a free transfer next year, and as a result, they are keen to cash in while they still can. Reports indicate that Spurs have set a £17 million valuation on the former Brighton man.

Spurs may struggle to find buyers at current Yves Bissouma price

While Bissouma’s preference is to continue playing in England, there is a belief that his stance could change if a club like Juventus were to table a formal bid.

The Serie A giants are said to be monitoring his situation closely, even though they have yet to show serious intent.

There remains scepticism over whether Juventus will make a concrete move for the player, particularly given Tottenham’s asking price of £17 million.

That said, Bissouma would be open to holding discussions with Juventus should they firm up their interest – and if Tottenham are eager to offload, there could yet be room for negotiation depending on how the final weeks of the window unfold.