Football London

Police investigations are taking place into clashes in the stands during Thomas Frank's first game in charge of Tottenham Hotspur as they won 2-0 at Reading on Saturday afternoon.

Second half Tottenham goals from academy striker Will Lankshear and 18-year-old new centre-back Luka Vuskovic, as well as a bright first performance from £55million signing from West Ham United Mohammed Kudus, helped Spurs and Frank seal a 2-0 win against the League One side on the Dane's debut in the dugout.

However, in the latter stages of the pre-season friendly encounter at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, some less than friendly events were taking place off the pitch. There were disturbances among the crowd in the final minutes of the match up at the top of the south east corner of the ground where the Spurs and Reading fans were closest to one another.

Stewards inside that area of the stadium were having to intervene, ensuring a long clear line was formed between the two sets of supporters. However, objects looked like they were being thrown, some of them landing on those Reading staff in the middle. Now the local police are investigating to find those responsible for the incident during the summer friendly.

A Thames Valley Police spokesperson told football.london: "We are aware of a public order incident at yesterday's match between Reading and Tottenham at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. Officers are investigating and we are working with the club to identify the individuals involved.

"Anyone with information is asked to contact the force on 101 or by making a report online, quoting investigation reference number 43250365707."

The Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga rumbles on without any breakthrough in negotiations.

Tottenham are keen on signing the player after triggering his £60million release clause, but Nottingham Forest have dug their heels in. They feel Spurs have made an illegal approach and that they should not have known the 25-year-old's contract details.

It is not a week-and-a-half since Spurs made the move to sign Gibbs-White - to be Thomas Frank's fourth summer signing - and we are still none the wiser over whether or not he will be a Tottenham player or a Nottingham Forest player at the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

So what has happened and what is the situation with the deal? football.london takes a look below.

What happened?

The move for Gibbs-White came out of the blue publicly, although behind the scenes Spurs have held a long-term interest in the former Wolves man; new head coach Thomas Frank wanted him at Brentford, and is known to believe the midfielder's creativity and energy make him perfect for his set-up. So the approach made sense for all parties.

Tottenham made their move and it all seemed to be accelerating quickly. However, Forest took umbrage, believing an illegal approach had been made to their player without their permission, and that the confidentiality of Gibbs-White's £60million release clause had been breached with suggestions that Spurs made a bid that was exactly what was required to release him.

Forest reportedly ended communications with the north London club and everything suddenly ground to a halt. Having already sold Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £52million, Nuno Espirito Santo's side were not planning on losing the England midfielder as well this summer.

Forest complaint

It was widely reported that Forest would make a complaint to the Premier League over what happened with Spurs and their transfer approach, but that has not quite happened.

Instead, they sent a letter to both Tottenham and Gibbs-White's agent threatening them with legal action over what they deem to have been an illegal approach for the 25-year-old England international.

Premier League stance

While both Forest and Tottenham have been very quiet on the situation on the record, the same can be said for the Premier League too.

football.londoncontacted the Premier League for their stance on the saga and they made it clear that they would not be commenting or providing guidance on what is happening. All understandable, really, with the legal aspect of things. So officially we're going to wait for this to run its course.

What's next for Gibbs-White?

Forest go on a pre-season tour of Portugal later this week, with games against Fulham and Estoril Praia on Saturday, July 26 and Wednesday, July 30 respectively.

Gibbs-White was named in the starting XI for Forest's 0-0 draw with Monaco on Saturday and is widely expected to be named in the travelling party for the trip to Portugal.

Gibbs-White stance

Tottenham remain hopeful that a deal will eventually get done, believing that with the release clause activated, it is simply a matter of time before it is concluded.

And Gibbs-White himself is understood to want to make the move to north London. Manchester City were previously interested in signing him, but Gibbs-White - while remaining professional and playing and training with Forest - wants a move to Spurs.

Forest have been trying to tie him down to a longer-term contract with a higher release clause but the player has turned down the opportunity to negotiate over contract talks for almost a year.

The Thomas Frank era at Tottenham Hotspur began with a victory at the weekend at League One hosts Reading and there was plenty for the new head coach and the supporters to take away from the game.

The 51-year-old stepped into the dugout for the first time with the Spurs badge on his chest as he put out two different starting XIs in either half of the match at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The first 45 minutes under Frank brought a goalless affair before the second period delivered goals from young striker Will Lankshear and 18-year-old centre-back Luka Vuskovic, as well as an exciting performance from £55million new signing Mohammed Kudus to seal the 2-0 win.

The Tottenham boss handed the captain's armband to Cristian Romero in the first half and then Son Heung-min in the second, having admitted the previous day that he was yet to decide on his skipper for his first season at the club.

Here are five things that we spotted during the encounter at Reading, including some discomfort for one of those two men wearing the armband.

Sore Son

While Son looked rusty during the game, the 33-year-old did play his part in both goals in that second half, winning the corners that led to each of them.

The South Korean looked to be in some discomfort at the end of the match and after the game, constantly holding and hitting the base of his back with his hand as he listened to the head coach's post-match debrief as well as before undergoing some warm-down runs on the pitch after the final whistle.

Whether it was an impact issue from a knock during the game or part of an ongoing concern for the Tottenham captain is unclear but he certainly seemed to be struggling with it while walking around, and appeared to speak to one of the club staff on the pitch about it before those runs.

Chatty Frank

One immediate difference between Frank and his predecessor Ange Postecoglou is that the Dane likes to be the man dishing out the tactical instructions to individuals while the Australian would delegate that to his coaching staff as more a manager than a head coach in the traditional mould.

Frank could be seen going around to various players before crouching down beside Son with a little tactics board as the South Korean tied up his shoelaces and put his shinpads into his socks. The Dane had a quick chat with the skipper as he moved bits around on the board.

The new Spurs head coach also decided to conduct both of his half-time and full-time team talks on the pitch during the match. The one at the interval concerned only those coming on for the second half while the final one had everyone present in the squad, presumably as they would not have all fitted in the small and probably very warm dressing room.

"Got the first 45 minutes into the legs, very good," the former Brentford boss said to his players. "Second thing, got a clean sheet. Third thing, dangerous from set-pieces, and reactions, good overall, could also be better. Of course defensive sharpness. Fantastic. Ok. Action. Pressed good from the start. Bring it. That's it, well done everyone."

Crowd trouble

The final minutes of Saturday's game brought some disturbances in the crowd at the top of one stand where the Spurs and Reading fans were closest to one another.

Stewards were having to intervene, ensuring a line between the two sets of supporters and objects looked like they were being thrown, some of them landing on those Reading staff.

There was talk after the game of potential police intervention following those clashes and any potential results of that are likely to emerge in the days ahead.

Vicario's debrief with Spence

When the final whistle blew on the pitch, Guglielmo Vicario, who had made a couple of good second half saves including one right at the death, went over and grabbed Djed Spence.

The Italian goalkeeper launched into one of his now trademark emotional debriefs for one of his defenders, with his arms around the right-back's neck and pushing himself head to head with him as he spoke.

Spence even had time to turn to goalscorer Lankshear and congratulate him while being held by Vicario as the Italian kept delivering his passionate sermon even though the defender was speaking to someone else briefly.

There's no doubting Vicario cares and he was keen to debrief after what for them both was hopefully the first of many clean sheets this season.

Making Spurs fans happy

After the game, while many of the Tottenham players gave the 3,000 or so travelling supporters applause, particularly the second half players, some of them appeared to take a little more time with the fans.

There may have been others that did as well, but football.london definitely saw Micky van de Ven go over to some of the travelling faithful while the two players who seemed to spend the most time with the fans were Djed Spence and Will Lankshear who went over and posed for photos and signed things for many of the crowd who had come down to the advertising hoardings.

That didn't stop some fans wanting that little bit more with one young supporter shouted at by stewards as he jumped on to the pitch and started to run across to where Kevin Danso was doing his post-match interview with the club. The youngster quickly turned and went back to the stand.

Teenage striker Oliver Boast has confirmed his Leeds United departure, with the youngster expected to sign for Tottenham Hotspur.

The 16-year-old, who netted nine times in 18 Under-18 Premier League appearances last term, appears destined to join Leeds' top-flight rivals Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

In a message posted on his Instagram account over the weekend, Boast penned: "After 8 years at Leeds United, it’s now time for me to move on and start a new chapter.

"I’ve been lucky enough to share some amazing moments with great teammates and the memories we shared will stay with me forever.

"A big thank you to everyone at Leeds who has helped me over the years - I wish the club all the best for the future!"

Reports surfaced in media last month that Boast had agreed to move to north London to further his footballing development. The Athletic revealed no tribunal would be necessary as Leeds have secured a seven-figure transfer fee with Spurs for Boast's signature.

Boast, a centre-forward by nature, made his bow for Leeds' Under-18s last August. His standout displays at club level secured him an England U16s selection last December where he found the net for the first time during that international gathering, reports Leeds Live.

He also turned out for the U21s outfit in April but remained behind Harry Gray in the hierarchy for a starting berth. Boast appears set to link up with former Leeds academy product Archie Gray at Tottenham. More than 12 months have elapsed since Gray joined Tottenham in a £40million transfer, with Joe Rodon moving in the reverse direction.

Nottingham Forest are reportedly targeting Manchester City's James McAtee as a potential replacement for Morgan Gibbs-White, with the 22-year-old midfielder on their summer wishlist.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side are looking to bolster their attacking options ahead of their historic return to European competition after a 29-year absence. The Reds secured seventh place in the Premier League last term and earned their Europa League spot after FA Cup winners Crystal Palace were relegated to the Conference League due to UEFA's multi-club ownership regulations.

Despite their European qualification, Forest have been relatively quiet in the transfer market, making only two senior additions with striker Igor Jesus and defender Jair Cunha arriving from Botafogo, whilst winger Anthony Elanga departed for Newcastle in a £55million deal. Gibbs-White's future remains uncertain, with Tottenham circling the England international as they look to bring him to north London, reports the Mirror.

Spurs submitted a £60million offer for the midfielder that triggered his release clause, though Forest have alleged an "illegal approach" and the transfer remains stalled. With Gibbs-White potentially heading for the exit door, Forest are reportedly eyeing McAtee as his replacement, according to the Telegraph. The report suggests City have placed a £35million price tag on the promising playmaker.

It's understood that the Citizens are using Cole Palmer's £42.5million switch to Chelsea in 2023 as their valuation benchmark for McAtee, with Forest facing stiff competition from West Ham, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt. McAtee featured 27 times for City last term, though only nine were from the starting XI, with boss Pep Guardiola acknowledging the youngster may need to depart in pursuit of regular football.

Speaking back in April, Guardiola said: "I didn't allow him to play minutes so I cannot ask anything from the players who don't play a lot of minutes. They could do better? No. Macca has this quality, the ability to create.

"He is there. The game worked better against Palace, you create chances. Macca close to the box is quite similar to Phil. They are there, a sense. It's difficult to train, to make that movement because the ball is coming. If he plays minutes he will score.

"For the age, I'd like him to stay. But I understand the players want more minutes. I would like him to stay, he's a player for the academy, he knows the patterns. He's a lovely person and trained really good. He can play different positions but I don't know how the squad will be and we will see."

Thomas Frank appeared to be delighted with his Tottenham squad immediately after their first pre-season friendly on Saturday.

Goals from Luka Vuskovic and Will Lankshear ensured Spurs ran out 2-0 winners against Reading in Saturday's pre-season friendly. Two lots of 11 players were deployed either side of half-time as Frank had a closer look at his squad after a couple weeks of training at Hotspur Way.

It was a good start to pre-season for Frank, who will take his side to Luton Town next Saturday before flying to Asia for the club's pre-season tour. Games against Arsenal and Newcastle are pencilled in in the Far East, while the Lilywhites will travel to Bayern Munich on August 7 before facing PSG in the UEFA Super Cup on August 13.

Everyone associated with the club will be hoping Spurs' performances domestically improve over the coming season and Frank appeared to like what he saw after the full-time whistle on Saturday. In a video released by the club, the Dane can be seen giving a speech to his players immediately after the match.

"Got the first 45 minutes into the legs, very good," the former Brentford boss said: "Second thing, got a clean sheet. Third thing, dangerous from set pieces.

"And reactions, good overall, could also be better. Of course defensive sharpness. Fantastic. Ok. Action. Pressed good from the start. Bring it. That's it well done everyone."

Frank will be keen to implement his ideas throughout pre-season, with Tottenham's Premier League campaign kicking off against Burnley on Saturday, August 16. "A good pre-season is very good," Frank admitted before the friendly against Reading.

"There’s a few things. One thing we need to hit the physical targets, so we need to make sure they are very fit. We need to make them strong and robust so we can go through a long season, hopefully competing in four tournaments.

"That’s the plan. That’s the biggest thing. The second biggest thing is getting the principles I want into the players. We train to get better and the friendlies we use to get better.

"Of course we would like to win. It would be nice to win. The next one is Reading and that is the most important one. That is the purpose of the pre-season. Touch wood, have everyone available for the Super Cup on August 13."

Footballing great Paul Gascoigne was reportedly admitted to intensive care following a concerning incident at his home on Friday night.

The former England and Tottenham star was taken to hospital after being found in a semi-conscious state by a friend in his Dorset residence, as reported by The Sun.

Gazza, aged 58, was initially placed in intensive care but is now said to be in an acute medical unit with his condition deemed stable.

He is expected to spend several days in hospital receiving necessary treatment.

Steve Foster, the friend who found him, shared that Gascoigne is grateful for the outpouring of support from numerous old friends who are eager to see him recover, reports Birmingham Live.

Speaking to The Sun, Foster said Gascoigne would "like to thank everyone for the support he's received so far from so many old friends who wish him well and want to see him back to his best.

Foster said he had driven the former midfielder to hospital, adding: "Paul is in hospital, which is the best possible place for him to be right now."

Earlier in the year, Gazza expressed optimism about his health, stating to The Mirror that he felt better than he had in many years after battling alcohol addiction and mental health issues.

The 58-year-old remarked: "I feel better now than I have in years."

"I hope I am at a point that I can look back over everything I've gone through with a different, more positive, perspective.

"After so many years in the spotlight, I feel like it's time people got to know the real me."

Morgan Gibbs-White has a big couple of weeks ahead of him amid continued links with Tottenham.

Spurs want to sign the 25-year-old and last week made an approach which triggered the £60million release clause in the midfielder's contract. However, Forest are claiming that an illegal approach was made and believe the confidential nature of that clause was breached with claims that Tottenham submitted a bid worth the exact amount required to trigger it.

It is now unclear whether the transfer will go ahead. Gibbs-White reported for pre-season training on Monday and has trained with his teammates as normal. The player even started in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Monaco, which was on the same day Tottenham beat Reading 2-0.

It's been reported that both Spurs and the player still want the transfer to happen but the move is now ensnared in legal matters between the two clubs.

The Nottingham Forest squad will fly out to Portugal in the coming days ahead of friendlies against Fulham on Saturday, July 26 and Estoril on Wednesday, July 30. According to The Athletic, Gibbs-White is expected to be part of the group that flies to Portugal.

Spurs, meanwhile, are due to face Luton Town on Saturday, July 26 before flying to Asia where they will face Arsenal and Newcastle. A deal for Gibbs-White is still possible and it really is anyone's guess on what will happen over the next two weeks.

Nuno Espirito Santo did not conduct a post-match interview after Forest's friendly against Monaco, so avoided any Gibbs-White related questions. Thomas Frank did not give too much away when asked about Tottenham's transfer pursuit of the England international on Friday.

"You know me well so I will use what I've always said is that I won't speak about players from outside the club," Frank said when asked about the links.

All eyes will now be on Gibbs-White as he makes the trip to Portugal with his current club. Whether he ends the week still as a Forest player remains to be seen.

Thomas Frank held his first press conference as Tottenham Hotspur head coach on Friday afternoon as he tackled plenty of topics ahead of the pre-season friendly at Reading on Saturday.

The 51-year-old was speaking to the media for the first time since being appointed as head coach last month to replace Ange Postecoglou and Frank already has two new faces through the door in Mohammed Kudus from West Ham and Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale, after giving the thumbs up to Mathys Tel's loan move from Bayern Munich becoming a permanent one.

Tottenham are also trying to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest but that £60million move is currently shrouded in legal matters concerning the 25-year-old's release clause.

Other topics for Frank to tackle in his first press conference were the future of Spurs captain Son Heung-min as he enters the final 11 months of his contract as well as vice-captain Cristian Romero, who has been linked with a move to La Liga.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Frank on his debut in front of the Spurs media. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way as the Dane began with his own message before the questions begin.

(Addressing the room) First one thing from me and on behalf of everyone from Tottenham, our condolences go to the families and loved ones of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva and everyone at Liverpool. I just wanted to make that statement first.

How have your first five weeks been at Spurs?

It’s the easy part now, the honeymoon. Everyone is happy, the sun is shining. We haven’t played a game yet but it’s super exciting. It’s a massive club. A huge club in England and the world. I’m super excited. Everyone has been kind and friendly. Open minded. It feels good and the best thing is it feels natural. Why not, it’s what I have done for so many years. It is football. It’s good players. It’s preparing them with a good staff and make sure we are ready to hit the ground running.

Spurs sacked five managers during your time at Brentford - does that worry you?

Only five? I like to challenge myself. I have the privilege of I have never been sacked before. That is one of the reasons why I took the job. I get a little bit more risk in my daily life. Coming to a big club, there are pressures. We need to perform because it is we. It’s me, it’s the staff the players, the staff and everyone we need to do that together. I like the ambitions. Everything I do, every decision I have made so far is for the long term. It’s not about surviving one game or one year or 18 months or whatever the average is. It’s for the long run.

Can you tell us anything about Morgan Gibbs-White?

I will not speak about players who are not mine. I think I have two exceptions, and they are getting older, Ronaldo and Messi. The rest I will just speak about the players who are inside Tottenham.

How is the mood around the club as the emotional connection the players had with Ange was clear?

First and foremost, I have said before, Ange will forever be a legend here at Tottenham. He is one of three who has won a European trophy and the first in 41 years. Unbelievable, fantastic achievement. I see happy players, positive, smiling, energy, training well. Good vibe around the placer and there should be — they have just won the Europa League. Going into a new season and in football, it’s about dreaming and hoping. That’s what we do.

How important is a good pre-season?

A good pre-season is very good. There’s a few things. One thing we need to hit the physical targets, so we need to make sure they are very fit. We need to make them strong and robust so we can go through a long season, hopefully competing in four tournaments. That’s the plan. That’s the biggest thing. The second biggest thing is getting the principles I want into the players. We train to get better and the friendlies we use to get better. Of course we would like to win. It would be nice to win. The next one is Reading and that is the most important one. That is the purpose of the pre-season. Touch wood, have everyone available for the Super Cup on August 13.

What do you think Mohammed Kudus will bring to the squad?

I think it's a great signing from the club. Top work from Daniel, Vinai and Johan in getting a very good player in early in the pre-season so we can start working with him. I think he gives us a bit of that unpredictability in the game. I think he's one-on-one actions are top, I think he's slide passes are top, I think his finishing is very good. He is almost the perfect age to perform but also to take the next level.

Is the challenge higher because Spurs won a trophy last season?

I don't know. I think it was extremely positive that they won, that gave them that fantastic trophy that this club deserves and they needed. My aim is that we can hopefully add to that. The first thing and the first aim is that we need to be able to compete in all four tournaments and do it on a consistent level. That's got to be the ambition that we build towards because I think 2019 was the last season where the club managed to compete in more than one competition. That's got to be the aim. We need to be able to compete in the Premier League, we need to be able to compete in the Champions League in Europe and also in the cups.

"That is a very high demand but that's got to be the aim. If we can compete, there's maybe a chance that you can hopefully end top. But we need to be able to build to compete first.

How excited are you with the resources at Spurs and where you can take them?

Super excited. I think there's a fantastic training ground, a fantastic stadium, so all the facilities are top. We just need to build from there. I think it's a very exciting squad with a good mix between some experience and some very talented players, but also players that are in a good age that can take the next step. Super excited about my biggest, biggest task - to maximise the potential in the players in the team. If you maximise that, it will give you a better opportunity for competing. If you can compete, you can hopefully win something. It's my job to maximise things.

How did Thomas Frank end up at Tottenham?

Very good question, I think you need to ask the guys who hired me. Of course it's big names, I'm very proud to sit in this chair and be part of the next chapter in Tottenham's history. I'll do everything every day to work towards hopefully taking this club to new heights. That's the ambition. If I was not ambitious, I would not sit here. So I'm excited and looking forward to it.

How hard was the decision to leave Brentford for Spurs?

In a way it was very difficult, in a way it was very easy. Very difficult because I'm a person that goes all in when I'm in. In every relationship - work, friendship, marriage, whatever it is. I go all in. And when you go all in working at a football club, you get attached. I had a fantastic time at Brentford with fantastic people - from staff, players, fans, everything. Really, really loved my time there.

But I also felt that maybe it was time to challenge myself and get another opportunity. And then when a club of Tottenham's magnitude are knocking on your door and would like you to be in front of it and be part of hopefully a successful journey, then I couldn't turn it down.

There's been speculation around your captain Son Heung-min and your vice-captain Cristian Romero, can I get your thoughts on those two players and whether you're banking on them for next season?

Two top players, Sonny, been here 10 years, finally got his his well deserved trophy in the summer. So important for the team and the club. Cristian Romeo, World Cup winner, Europa League winner, Copa America winner, very, very important for us as well. Both have trained well, setting the standards out there on the training pitch and both will play tomorrow so I'm very happy.

During your time at Brentford, your team was very adaptable, have you got a specific idea of the style of play that you want to play here at Spurs?

Yeah, I'm very, very clear in all the principles I have in, I can say, every phase of the game. What I will like to see from the team and the players is I want us to be brave. I want us to be very aggressive, and I want to attack. I think brave is absolutely linked in 'to dare is to do'. If you're not brave, it's very, very difficult to achieve anything.

I think it's very important that we take risk, because if you don't take risk, you also take risk, so that brave to dare is to do, I think is crucial. I think the aggressivity, that's crucial if you want to win something or achieve something, because if you're not aggressive in duels, on and off the ball, it's difficult. It's a very competitive game and of course you need to attack.

Can I ask you about your history with Johan Lange and your working relationship now you're back together at Spurs?

Johan has done very well, going first to Villa as the technical director and now coming to Tottenham. Yeah, I know him from back then in Denmark. In Denmark, you know, it's a small country, so you know each other if you've been, how can I say, growing up through the system. He's a very good guy.

There was an image going round earlier this week of long throw auditions, who was successful in the auditions?

Let's see. I believe that not only maximising the players' potential and team potential, we need to do what we can to make sure we have enough threats from everywhere on the pitch and that's one area, set pieces.

When you took over from Dean Smith at Brentford, you were very much under the radar, not many people knew who you were, now you're not under the radar, everybody knows who you are, what pressure does that put on you on day one of the season as Spurs manager?

I don't know. I think it's natural, it's a good pressure. The interesting thing is it's not when when you are in it, it's something I've done for many years. I'm very aware that it's a big club, there's more scrutiny and there will be more scrutiny because, as I said to the staff, the first day here when we had a meeting with all the the staff in here, I promise you one thing. One thing is 100% sure, we will lose football matches.

I haven't seen a team that is not losing any football matches. There is Arsenal, that we can't mention, in the Premier League. So I made my first rookie mistake there. And there was Preston back in the day I think those were the only two teams in a Premier League season. Then they probably lost in the cup and in the cup lost the games.

So that will happen, of course. That will be a natural, pressure, but the daily work is natural and I think the biggest pressure is the pressure I would put on myself.

You said you want your style of play to be aggressive and attacking, how do you do that without losing 22 Premier League football matches in the season?

I think I said brave first. Brave is on the ball but also off the ball, how we defend, let's say in high pressure, for example, but I also said aggressive and also attacking. Those are the three good buzzwords that I will continue, you know, I'm quite consistent in my messages, but I also started saying I have principles for all the phases. That means also when we defend low, when we defend middle, and when we defend high, and how we defend the box. So I think that's quite important that we do that. If you want to win enough football matches, we need to be a well-rounded team.

You mentioned this is still your honeymoon period, you had a good marriage at Brentford with Matthew Benham and Cliff Crown and everybody else, how is your marriage going to work out with Daniel Levy?

Marriage is a strong wording I would say. I don't think I'll go that far. I'm only married to my wife, Nanna, but I had a fantastic relationship there's no doubt about that with Phil Giles and Matthew Benham, John Varney, and Lee Dykes, and I'm expecting and we'll work on getting as a good relationship to Daniel, Vinai and Johan. I think I'm pretty good with people, so I'm very optimistic about that.

There are a few players at the club you tried to sign before like Archie Gray and Brennan Johnson, how good is it to work with them now? Are there any others in the squad you wished you had before?

Definitely good to see Archie Gray and Brennan. It was not a secret. You guys apparently know everything. I have still not figured out that information but of course when it comes to Tottenham no one finds out anything, right? It’s all top secret and nothing slips out (laughs). No, so good to work with them, two fantastic footballers and two good people. Off top of my head, I think it was not possible with them.

Back to Sonny and Romero, have you had any conversations with them about their future?

My expectation is all the players are here and they are training well. That is what I am focusing on and again very impressed by them. They set the standards and train hard. As I said, they are playing tomorrow, that’s a good indicator that they are here.

There are some players with serious injuries – Maddison, Kulusevski and Dragusin – any ideas when we’ll see them back in action?

Maddison is the closest one. He is part-training with the team so that is very positive and obviously a key player. Dragusin and Kulusevski a little bit further I think.

On Son, have you decided who your captain will be?

Good question. I haven’t decided anything on that. I have a long list of bullet points I need to get through and I take them in the right order. He was the captain last year and when we played two 45s tomorrow, Son and Romero will be the two captains, but I haven’t made a final decision.

Will it be your decision or the players vote?

That will be my decision.

You want to challenge on all four fronts, how hard is it to do that with the money City are spending, Liverpool are spending, Chelsea, Arsenal are spending?

That is of course tough. I think it is fair to say those three clubs are a tiny bit ahead right now. I am not focusing too much on them, I am focusing on us and what we can do. Can we get closer and compete in all situations? I think it’s a good first step. How close is that? I will not answer that. Let’s play some games and talk about it then. I think we have a good squad, I am pretty sure we can build something stronger over the next years and get closer.

You said you're making decisions for the long-term but are you confident you’ll get time for those decisions to pay off?

Yes, if I wasn’t then I shouldn’t take the job. I had very good conversations with Daniel, Vinai and Johan, they were very positive. I am in general a positive and optimistic guy, I think personally that is better to be that than too pessimistic because I think it’s very difficult to achieve anything or achieve anything big and do things that were not possible before if you’re not optimistic. Of course also realistic and know what good looks like, know that the three teams you mentioned are ahead of us right now. I know how we should look to get there, but let’s take one step at a time.

What are your first memories of Tottenham growing up, would have been 10 or 11 for the 1984 UEFA Cup, maybe a bit too early?

That was probably too early for me in 84. What I remember of that summer was more the Euros with Denmark. We were in it for the first time with all due respect! I think when it really picked up was the League Cup we won. I can’t remember the year but with Allan Nielsen playing. Yeah 99? So I remember that. That is probably the strongest memory.

New Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has revealed he is yet to decide on his club captain for the 2025/26 season.

Spurs kickstart their pre-season schedule this weekend against League One side Reading, Frank's first game in charge since replacing Ange Postecoglou. The 51-year-old was appointed last month and faces the challenge of competing in the Premier League and Champions League.

New signings Mohammed Kudus and Kota Takai are expected to make their debut. Saturday's trip to the Select Car Leasing Stadium presents Frank with the opportunity to assess his team ahead of their trip to Luton and then Asia.

The Dane will also be deciding on who to name as club captain for the new season.

Last campaign, Son Heung-min was captain with defender Cristian Romero vice-captain but their positions are yet to be confirmed.

Asked who his captain would be, he replied when speaking to the media for the first time: "Good question. I haven't decided on that yet. I have a long list of bullet points to get through.

"[Son] was captain last season and tomorrow we'll have two 45 minutes and Son and Romero will be the captains in each. But no, I haven't decided on the captain yet."

Pressed if the players will decide or himself, Frank added: "I will decide."

Frank also provided a small update on the latest injury news ahead of the start of pre-season. Radu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski continue to recover from their long-term issues but there is better news regarding James Maddison.

"James Maddison is part-training with the team so that's positive," he said. "Dragusin and Kulusevski are a little bit further away."

Also in the press conference, Frank was asked about taking over from Postecoglou on the back of his Europe League win with Spurs. "First and foremost, Ange will forever be a legend here at Tottenham," Frank said.

"One of only three who have won a European trophy here and the first in 41 years."