Football London

Thomas Frank has been without some big names for much of the season, and he's under pressure to transform Tottenham Hotspur's fortunes

Tottenham Hotspur have been given a major boost ahead of their clash against Manchester City. James Maddison has stepped up efforts to rebuild his match fitness ahead of the highly anticipated clash in north London on Sunday afternoon.

The 29-year-old midfielder missed the end of last season with a knee injury, which he suffered during a win over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-final first leg. Shortly after Spurs booked a place in the final against Manchester United, Maddison confirmed the bad news.

Then, in August, he was stretchered off during a pre-season friendly draw to Newcastle in South Korea. The England international ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, putting him back on the sidelines.

At the start of December, Maddison was spotted on the grass at Hotspur Way for the first time since the setback. Maddison, who was joined by a member of the sports science staff, enjoyed a couple of touches of the ball.

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"It is very early stages, still a long-term injury," said Thomas Frank at the time. "Good to see him out there, but very early stages, and there is no specific time frame. It will be a long time, unfortunately, before he is available.

football.london understands that the Tottenham playmaker hopes to get back on the pitch before the end of the season, but he and the club don't want to risk aggravating the problem. Nevertheless, Maddison has recently begun to step up preparations for his return.

This will come as a huge boost for Thomas Frank, who's under pressure to turn things around. The Englishman, who has been documenting his recovery on his social media channels, uploaded another Instagram post with the caption: " Progress in motion."

Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie, and Archie Gray were among the thousands of fans, friends, family, and colleagues to like the post. A few days prior, ahead of the UEFA Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt, Maddison uploaded pictures of himself in the club's alternative training gear.

"Another day closer," he wrote. Morgan Rogers, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, and Jordan Henderson flooded the comment section to wish Maddison well, posting heart and arm-flexed emojis.

While Frank will be pleased to see Maddison making good progress, he's been working hard to carry Spurs' form on the European stage over to the domestic stage. On Friday afternoon, the Dane said: "We definitely need to build on some good performances.

"As I said, not everything has been perfect, but now, as I calculate, the last 10, it's more consistent, it's more, we compete better, we are constantly improving but especially the last three games, it's much more over 90 minutes.

"I think the three performances there, that's the thing we need to bring into Sunday and going forward," added Frank. On Spurs' form, he said: "Sometimes, for whatever reason, you don't get the momentum.

"Very aware that this season is a season where we are, as always, and we should be for Tottenham, very ambitious, but it is a transitional season, a transitional season where we need to be very ambitious, do as good as we can in every single competition.

"I definitely expected and hoped and believed that we would be higher. I also think, it's fair to say, some of the margins that we could easily, easily like this, have had six points more, then it’s completely different talk.

"Unfortunately, we haven't. It is what it is, and we need to keep going."

And, on Pep Guardiola, the Dane said: "Pep is the best coach in the world. He proved that many times. I think what he's done over the years is he's extremely innovative.

"He's always changing and, how can I say, playing around with positions, offensive positions, different types and different positions. From going maybe wide wingers to a little bit more inside, depending on how he plays it, with the [Rayan] Cherki or [Phil] Foden or [Antoine] Semenyo or [Erling] Haaland or [Tijjani] Reijnders.

"He's playing around with different offensive positions. I think the City team now, when they're in full flow, I think there's a threat from so many angles that we need to be aware of, but I also see some areas that we hopefully can explore."

As Tottenham Hotspur prepare to face Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Football London takes a look at the players who could be missing for both sides

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City will be missing 13 players between them in their Premier League clash.

Both sides were in action in the Champions League, with Spurs overcoming Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 and City defeating Galatasaray by the same scoreline at the Etihad Stadium. But both sides will be taking each other on in a pivotal clash for their seasons tomorrow.

City are looking to keep pace with Arsenal, while Tottenham are desperate to end a run of five Premier League fixtures without a win. Football London takes a look at who will be missing for the Premier League heavyweights.

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs manager Thomas Frank is dealing with one of the worst injury crises ever seen in the Premier League. The Dane has excelled in the Champions League but has struggled to pick up regular results domestically.

It does not help that he is currently unable to call upon nine first-team players. He has been without attacking stars James Maddison (ACL) and Dejan Kulusevski (knee) since the summer and Mohammed Kudus (thigh) also remains absent.

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Brazilian forward Richarlison is also out for seven weeks with a hamstring injury, while box-to-box midfield engine Rodrigo Bentancur is out for three months, having undergone hamstring surgery.

Options in defence were also reduced when Ben Davies broke his ankle, while Lucas Bergvall is also nursing an ankle injury he picked up against Frankfurt.

Midfielder Joao Palhinha is also absent, having not recovered from the knock he suffered before the home loss to West Ham, while Pedro Porro is also expected to be out for a number of weeks.

The latter was confirmed in a club statement which said: "The full-back picked up the problem in the first half of our 2-2 draw at Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, where he was withdrawn at half-time, replaced by Destiny Udogie. Pedro hasn't travelled; unfortunately, he's picked up a hamstring injury, so he'll be out for four weeks."

It's also unclear if defender Micky van de Ven will be available to face Guardiola's side. Frank said: "Micky is a minor one.

"It will be touch and go for Sunday. We're hoping, he was on the pitch yesterday, on the pitch today. So, hopeful for that, but it's touch and go."

Manchester City

City have some absences of their own. Similarly to Spurs, they are missing plenty of players due to long-term injuries. Jeremy Doku is the latest City star to enter the treatment room, as he went down with a muscular injury in the win over Galatasaray.

Ruben Dias (hamstring) has also been absent since City's 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the start of January and is also expected to miss the clash in north London. In the same clash, Josko Gvardiol suffered a broken leg and will soon be having surgery.

Tottenham are interested in Omar Marmoush and could offer multiple players as part of a swap deal with Manchester City

Tottenham have three key players who could feature in a swap deal with Manchester City for Omar Marmoush.

Spurs have been listed among several clubs interested in the Egyptian. Marmoush has struggled for regular minutes at City and could see his starting XI opportunities diminish further following the arrival of Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth.

As a result, clubs like Aston Villa, Fenerbahce and the Lilywhites have all been linked with a move in recent weeks. Turkish publication Sabah reports that the player would prefer to remain in the Premier League, giving Villa and Spurs a leg up on a potential transfer.

Tammy Abraham's arrival in Birmingham boosts Thomas Frank's chances further of securing Marmoush. The club could even consider offering a fee plus some of their own stars in order to secure a deal before the transfer deadline on Monday.

Here, Football London has named three Spurs stars who could make the journey to Manchester.

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Micky van de Ven

Micky van de Ven has attracted interest from across the Premier League in recent times. Liverpool have been linked with a move for the defender in the past, as boss Frank admits a new contract had been a priority for Spurs.

However, while the Dutch international is regarded as a "very important" player, the club could consider sending him north to bolster their thin forward line.

Currently, Dominic Solanke is the team's only fit striker who can be relied upon, following Richarlison's injury. Frank may prioritise gaining more firepower up front than tying down defensive stars.

Van de Ven is a doubt for Spurs' clash with City on Sunday afternoon after a "minor" injury issue kept him out of the Champions League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Radu Dragusin

Since returning from a cruciate ligament injury in December, Radu Dragusin has played just six minutes of Premier League football for Spurs.

The Romanian international came on in the dying embers of the win over Crystal Palace in December and the draw with Burnley in January.

Italian side Roma have been linked with a move for the 23-year-old, with the initial plans to sign him on a loan until the end of the season. Dragusin's agent, Florin Manea, told Tele Radio Stereo that he was aiming to push the deal through, but it has not materialised.

Earlier in January, Manea said: "The decisive days will be between today and tomorrow. I'd like to avoid talking, but we hope to reach a conclusion in the negotiations with Roma."

Spurs could opt to use the wantaway star as leverage with City in a deal for Marmoush, given the club's lack of depth in the centre-back position.

Kevin Danso

Looking at City's struggles in their backline, Kevin Danso could be an option for Spurs to negotiate with City for a Marmoush swap deal.

The 27-year-old initially joined on loan last season but made his deal permanent in the summer, signing a five-year contract in north London.

Known for his aggressive style of play and ability to manage a high line of defence, Danso could be the perfect option for City even in the short term.

The defender was set to join Wolves in January 2025, but Spurs hijacked the deal to set them up with cover at the back. The Austria international seems to be happy at the club, but with a title push on the horizon for City, he could be tempted to opt for silverware instead.

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Tottenham have a big list of unavailable players but a couple of them could be set to return just in time for the north London derby

Thomas Frank has admitted the hope is that Pedro Porro and Richarlison could be back from injury for Tottenham in time to face Arsenal next month.

Spurs boss Frank is dealing with eight long-term injuries in summer signing Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Richarlison, Porro and Ben Davies while Micky Van de Ven is also a doubt for this Sunday's Premier League clash against Manchester City.

Porro and Richarlison both suffered hamstring injuries, against Burnley and Bournemouth respectively. The Brazilian was ruled out for seven to eight weeks while right-back Porro is expected to be out for a month from the game at Turf Moor last weekend.

When asked whether the duo could both be back in action in time for the north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 22, Frank said: "That could be a dream scenario and could happen. We'll know a little bit more when we get closer, but it's in that bracket."

The Spurs boss also delivered an update on Van de Ven, who is going to be a close call when it comes to taking part against Pep Guardiola's City side in the Premier League on Sunday evening.

"Micky is a minor one, it will be touch and go for Sunday. We're hoping, he was on the pitch yesterday, on the pitch today. So, hopeful for that, but it's touch and go," said the Dane.

Frank does at least have Dominic Solanke back and firing home the goals and he has high hopes for the England striker within his system.

"I always liked Dom and I’ve followed him for many years here in England. The last season he had at Bournemouth he was absolutely on fire. I think it was 19 goals in the Premier League and he was a little bit unlucky because he is normally a super robust player but then he came to Spurs and got an ankle injury," he said.

"Then he got another one, so he had a little bit of a disrupted last season but still scored a decent amount of goals and looked a threat. He was one of the players when I stepped into the club, I said, ‘I’m sure he’ll score a lot of goals for us, that I am not in doubt,’ because he has got all the qualities of the way we want to play, the principles I have and the goalscorers I normally produce are number nines, so I thought he would do the same.

"It feels a little bit like a new signing [with him back] and he will only get better over the next few weeks."

Tottenham have just days left in the January transfer window to complete any late deals.

Clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, now have only a few days left to finalise any last-minute transfer business in the January window as the scramble to bolster squads intensifies.

The window comes to a close at 7pm on Monday, 2nd February, with the rush for signings set to kick off over the weekend. Spurs have already been active in the window, with both arrivals and departures.

The club has secured the services of midfielder Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid and full-back Souza from Santos. One of the key objectives for Spurs in the closing days will be to bring in additional attacking firepower.

For Thomas Frank, the focus will be on this weekend's Premier League showdown against Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs are set to host Pep Guardiola's side in the 4.30pm kick-off on Sunday.

However, even amidst the ongoing action, there is likely to be work happening behind the scenes on potential deals. With that in mind, here's a glimpse at some of the latest chatter from within and around the club.

Striker transfer confirmed

Spurs have announced that young striker Dane Scarlett has been loaned to Scottish team Hibernian until the end of the season. This move comes just days after the 21 year old made a late appearance off the bench in the 2-0 Champions League victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.

However, he has struggled to secure consistent playing time this season, having made only five first-team appearances across all competitions.

The transfer could potentially signal further attacking additions arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during the closing days of the transfer window.

Speaking about the signing, Hibs head coach David Gray said: "Dane is a player with real talent, fantastic attributes and he will provide a genuine goal threat in the forward areas of the pitch with his pace, athleticism and technique.

"We are delighted to bring Dane into the building and we are all looking forward to working with him over the next six months."

The loan arrangement marks Scarlett's third temporary departure from Spurs since 2022, following previous stints at Portsmouth, Ipswich Town and Oxford United.

Real Madrid 'contact'

Spurs are amongst the clubs to have been approached regarding a potential transfer for Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz in the closing stages of the transfer window, according to TEAMtalk.

Diaz caught the eye with his displays for Morocco during the Africa Cup of Nations over the festive period, but has found himself on the fringes since returning to Madrid from the tournament. His representatives are therefore reported to be sounding out clubs about a possible January transfer.

Tottenham, alongside Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Serie A side Como, have all reportedly been 'contacted' by Diaz's representatives. It is suggested that 'nothing is impossible' should the appropriate opportunity present itself for the player before Monday's deadline.

Across his 141 appearances for Real Madrid, the 26 year old has netted 21 goals and registered 23 assists.

The Tottenham Hotspur head coach has been speaking about the remaining days of the winter transfer window and what the club will do

Thomas Frank has not ruled out Tottenham making a loan signing to bolster their injury-ravaged squad before the transfer window closes on Monday.

Spurs are dealing with eight long-term injuries as Frank has to do without summer signing Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Richarlison, Pedro Porro and Ben Davies while Micky Van de Ven is a doubt for Sunday's Premier League clash against Manchester City.

In some Champions League games this season, with others ineligible to play, the Tottenham boss has only been able to call upon 11 senior outfield players. The Dane admitted that his squad is weaker now than when the winter transfer window opened thanks to those injuries and the £35million sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace.

"I think that's fair. We lost six or seven players inside three weeks in January. That's crazy, and some of them extremely unlucky, definitely Lucas and Ben with clear contact injuries. There were definitely too many. So yeah, of course it's weaker than we started with on the first of January," he said.

Despite Spurs sitting 14th in the Premier League and a weakened squad at his disposal to get the club out of trouble, the 52-year-old wants Tottenham to keep their nerve in the transfer market and only push the boat out for big players for the long-term and short term.

The north London club have so far brought in Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid for £34.6milion and 19-year-old left-back Souza from Santos for £13million.

"The best clubs, they take good, calm, sensible decisions, also when it's a little bit windy, not going as well as we want it to, because that's key for what we want to build. It's absolutely key," he said.

While Frank has ruled out making permanent panic signings for the short-term, with Tottenham not believed to be among those clubs after Jean-Philippe Mateta and Raheem Sterling, he did admit that loan signings would be an acceptable measure for the ailing squad.

"We’re still in the market, so it’s not that we are not trying, but it’s just that the short term also needs to be with a long-term view. That’s a big thing," he said.

"[A loan] that’s different, doing a loan that fits and can help us. That’s different compared to buying a player for £30-£40million, that does he really improve us much more to what we’ve got now? That’s two different things."

On whether such a loan move could be in the offing, the Spurs boss added: "I'm definitely not saying 'no' or that it can’t happen, but I think that if you look at the market, there’s not that much happened so far. When you look across it, there’s not that many players available."

Despite some difficult atmospheres at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season, in keeping with the team's performances, Frank is expecting the fans to get behind Spurs in Sunday's game against City.

"In the Dortmund game, you definitely felt you played at home. That was a fantastic feeling. The fans were fantastic throughout. It also went according to plan and it’s always a little bit easier so it’s more when there are setbacks in games when players and fans, all of us need to be united, together and pushing through that," said the Dane.

"That’s the big thing and of course have confidence. We are playing at home in front of our fans. That should be an advantage which I think it is most of the time."

Frank knows that first and foremost it is the team's displays that must improve in the Premier League to match their Champions League exploits.

"For me, the most important thing is that we get even more consistent in the performances than the result and then the rest will take care of itself in terms of where we are ending," he said.

"So we need to keep putting good performances together, that also needs to change to get those wins or consistent points. That creates momentum and then we can look back at the table in April and look at how it looks. If we do that, the rest will take care of itself."

The club have confirmed that young striker Dane Scarlett has joined Scottish side Hibernian on loan.

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that forward Dane Scarlett has completed a loan move away from the club, suggesting that there could be another attacking arrival at the club before Monday’s deadline.

Scarlett has joined Scottish Premiership side Hibernian on loan for the rest of the current season. His moves comes just days after he came on as a late substitute in the 2-0 Champions League victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night.

That appearance was one of five for the first team so far this season. The move north of the boarder is in search of more regular game time between now and the end of the season.

Announcing the signing, Hibs head coach David Gray said: “Dane is a player with real talent, fantastic attributes and he will provide a genuine goal threat in the forward areas of the pitch with his pace, athleticism and technique.

"We are delighted to bring Dane into the building and we are all looking forward to working with him over the next six months."

The club’s director Malky Mackay also revealed that Scarlett turned down clubs in England to make the move. "Dane is a top young player with serious potential and is an exciting talent,” he said.

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"We're delighted that he saw Hibs as the best place for the next step in his career, despite having plenty of offers in England and abroad.

"I would like to thank Tottenham Hotspur for their cooperation and professionalism in the negotiations leading to an extremely smooth process of the loan. We're all really excited to see him in action between now and the end of the season."

The striker’s exit comes at a time when Spurs are on the lookout for attacking reinforcements before the end of the window, amid injury concerns over both Dominic Solanke and Richarlison. The fact that the club are willing to let an attacking player leave could hint that one may be coming in.

Speaking ahead of the Champions League clash against Frankfurt, Frank confirmed to TNT Sport : "We are 100% in the market.

"I think that when let’s say results are not top and you get injuries, that’s where you can feel you are being pressured to take decisions that you maybe don’t want to take for the future.

"But we need to make good assessments, good analysis, where we are making good decisions that can help us get short-term success, optimise that, but also be very good for the long-term."

Spurs have so far completed the signing of two new players in the January window, with midfielder Conor Gallagher and full-back Souza completing moves to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Here's every single word the Tottenham Hotspur head coach said ahead of the Premier League game against Manchester City on Sunday

Thomas Frank tackled plenty of topics at his press conference at Hotspur Way on Friday ahead of Tottenham's Premier League match against Manchester City this weekend.

Spurs are through to the Champions League last 16 after their 2-0 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday with goals from Randal Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke. Frank's men finished above the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and reigning champions PSG and will bypass next month's play-off round next month to head straight into March's round of 16.

Tottenham now focus back on the Premier League with a tough flurry of games against City, Manchester United, Newcastle and Arsenal.

In his press conference Frank delivered an update on Micky van de Ven's injury and what will happen in the remainder of the transfer window with Tottenham needing reinforcements.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Frank. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

Can we have an update on Micky van de Ven's injury?

Micky is a minor one, it will be touch and go for Sunday. We're hoping, he was on the pitch yesterday, on the pitch today. So, hopeful for that, but it's touch and go.

Is the full focus on the league now without a Champions League play-off?

Yeah, for me it's always been full focus on the next game, so it's full focus on Man City on Sunday. We definitely need to build on some good performances. I said not everything has been perfect, but now as I calculated the last 10 (games), it's more consistent, it's more, I can't say, we compete better.

We are constantly improving, but especially the last three games, it's much more over 90 minutes, and I think the three performances there, that's the thing we need to bring in to Sunday and going forward.

Did you envisage being 14th in the league at this stage of the season?

No, I didn't. I'm very aware, and I think I said that a few times, I'm very aware that you always hope for more. You always, in football, small things, you can turn and you can get a little momentum or something, you can get more sometimes, for whatever reason you don't get the momentum.

Very aware that this season is a season where we are, as always, and we should be for Tottenham, very ambitious, but it is a transitional season where we need to be very ambitious and do as good as we can in every single competition. And I definitely expect it and hope and believe that we will be higher, but I also think it's fair to say some of the margins, the bits, we could easily, like this, have had six points more.

It would be a completely different talk. Unfortunately, we haven't and it is what it is and we need to keep going.

It's Deadline Day on Monday, is it about bringing in the right player for now but also for the future? Is there maybe a possibility that there might not be any new arrivals for Monday?

I said it, the club worked relentlessly to try to do the best they can to improve the squad, especially Johan, Fabio and Vinai and of course all the people behind them. I mean it, we can't be too obsessed with short term fix that's not helping on the long term, because if we don't do that, all the hard work we put in now can be limited for the future. And that's not that we (don’t) want badly short term success as well.

I can promise that the Lewis family is super committed to this project. They want to do everything, and I would go against my rule, hopefully only once, that there's no doubt it's clear that the club wants to sign Semenyo. They did everything.

I think that's a clear signal that the Lewis family is very committed. That's a big signing with finances and all that. So it's aligned with that.

That's the quality players we are looking for to improve the squad. And if we can't find that, then it's definitely better to take the right decision. It's not the same that we're just getting quality players going forward, because we all know it's not that easy.

And I'm sure if we're not, for whatever reason, able to get another player in, or players in this window, then for the summer, it's a big summer ahead, and I'm sure we'll see big improvements there.

How pleased are you with Dominic Solanke’s recovery and is he ready for the weekend?

It was so nice to have him back when he was through on goal. It was so nice. It was so nice when Dom was through on goal that you just had that feeling, OK, this is a goal. And he just proved that.

Like always, there's a lot of thought process and analysis behind every decision we try to make in team selection and on the pitch and all that. And of course, it's tough not to bring Dom [into the side] again in a very important game. But all signs, all my experience, told me that it's not the right thing to do that.

Kolo [Muani] did very well and then he came on and killed the game for us. He's still building, but he's ready to start on Sunday.

What's the biggest challenge when facing Pep Guardiola's side, and how different is this version of Man City in 25-26?

Pep is the best coach in the world. He proved that many times. I think what he's done over the years is he's extremely innovative. He's always changing and, how can I say, playing around with the positions, offensive positions, different types in different positions. And he does it again now, from going maybe wide wingers to a little bit more inside, depending on how he plays it with Cherki or Foden or Semenyo or Haaland or Reijnders or whoever.

So he's playing around the different offensive positions. I think the City team now, when they're in full flow, I think they are a threat from so many angles. That we need to be aware of. But I also see some areas that we hopefully can explore.

A question about Marc Guehi, you obviously faced him many times, how impressed have you been with his progress for the last several years, and would you consider him to be one of the best defenders in Europe?

I've seen Guehi all the way from Swansea, where we played him in the Championship, so that's a few years, so he's been on quite a journey, and he's impressed me in many ways. He's extremely composed in all his defensive actions, so that means he's never rushing. To have a calm defender is a good thing, because normally they're in the right position and they clear calmly, and on the ball he takes amazing decisions.

You spoke about having Solanke back, how vital is that to you when you consider as well the fact that a lot of your goals recently have come from your two centre-backs?

First and foremost, it's extremely positive to have two defenders scoring that many goals. If we can then add more goals from our offensive players, then we'll be in a good place. I think we have a lot of offensive talent in, for example, Wilson and Mathys Tel, and I also think we have it in Xavi, who's played quite a lot, he's still only 22. I think all the three of them will score a lot of goals going forward, but of course they're not as proven goalscorers or as proven goalscorers in the Premier League. Xavi has scored quite a few goals in the past.

So to miss our main striker, I don't think any team is happy with that for six months. That's been a blow, but hey, that's what we need to handle.

So to have Dom back in, but not only for his goalscoring abilities, clearly you've seen that now in the two Champions League games, but also I think his hold-up play, his link play, his ability to press, and just that presence on the pitch and in the changing room, that's big.

Do you worry about your team's mentality, because the Champions League is fine, you're the fourth-best team in Europe according to the table. In the Premier League, you're eight points off the relegation zone, 10 points off the Champions League, so do your players prefer playing in Europe to playing in the Premier League?

I don't think that. I think it's a bit more complex than that. I think it's a skill, as an individual player and as a team, to perform every third or fourth day in the Premier League and in Europe, no matter if it's the Conference League, Europa League or Champions League.

When you take it up a notch from Europa League to Champions League, it's even more difficult. I think it's fair to say we've seen it over the years with a club that is not as used to it, year in, year out, that it can be tough to do that. Because it's the physical load, it's the mental load that they need to be able to produce again and again and again.

I think we've seen some good signs of it. I actually think we haven't been that bad after the Champions League games. I think we had some good performances after that. I think if we had got six points more in the Christmas spell, we wouldn't have the talk we're talking about now. But the robustness, physically and mentally, is the biggest thing. That's a learning curve.

I don't think you have many players in our squad that have done that just for two seasons. So that's a learning curve.

A couple of years ago, when City came to Spurs, it was right at the end of the season and some Spurs fans were conflicted about who they wanted to win, because if City won, it stopped Arsenal winning the title. We're a little bit further out now, but do you think on Sunday, some Spurs fans might have a similar kind of mindset?

I don't know. I know that the Spurs fans will, how can you say, will support the team and I understand the conflict. But I'm not in doubt they'll be happy if we perform well, and beating City is important for us. It's all about us, and we, the staff, the players, will do everything we can to put a top performance out there.

I just want to ask you about the 3-4-3 formation, it feels like it's unlocking the parts of the team now, is that something you've been considering for a while, or was it the availability of players you wanted to find a shape that fitted them?

I think it's a combination of... I think it's always how can we get our best players in their best possible positions. And I think with the players available, it suited them quite well, 3-4-3. I knew we more or less would do it against Dortmund no matter what, because the way they came, I think that would suit the game plan and everything, it looked good.

And then on top of that, with the players' availability and so on, so then we carry on for the following two games. And it's definitely something I'm looking into, we could consider going forward with, because I think a lot of our players look good in that. And I think also there's a lot of good bits, especially offensively, 3-4-3 looks good, closer connections that I like.

You've got so many long term injuries now, and Brennan Johnson also leaving, is it fair to say that your squad is weaker than it was when you went into the transfer window?

In January?

Yeah.

I think that's fair. I think we lost, I can't remember, six or seven players inside three weeks in January. That's crazy, and some of them extremely unlucky, definitely Lucas and Ben with clear contact injuries. Then there was, I can't remember all of them, but there were definitely too many. So yeah, of course it's weaker than we started the first of January.

The reason I ask is how do you as a club keep your nerve with the short-term and long-term idea when you could leave yourself so short for the rest of the season?

Yeah, it's... That's a good question. But I think the best clubs, they take good, calm, sensible decisions. Also when it's a little bit windy, not going as well as we want it to, because I think that's key for what we want to build. It's absolutely key.

And I also think there are some players that are looking to come back relatively quick-ish in Pedro and Richy, definitely. I think there's two on top of my head. So that would help as well, of course.

Does Solanke feels like a new signing and as a talisman for the team, what can he do?

I always liked Dom and I’ve followed him for many years here in England. The last season he had at Bournemouth he was absolutely on fire. I think it was 19 goals in the Prem and he was a little bit unlucky because he is normally a super robust player but then he came to Spurs and got an ankle injury. Then he got another one, so he had a little bit of a disrupted last season but still scored a decent amount of goals and looked a threat. He was one of the players when I stepped into the club, I said, ‘I’m sure he’ll score a lot of goals for us, that I am not in doubt,’ because he has got all the qualities of the way we want to play, the principles I have and the goalscorer I normally produce are number nines, so I thought he would do the same. It feels a little bit like a new signing and he will only get better over the next few weeks.

Talking about Semenyo, that is quite a commitment from the owners, that they are prepared to pay £65million, how close did it get and is that a signal from the owners that they will give you that money?

I think the biggest thing and the question I want to answer is, is I think it shows big, big commitment from the Lewis family. I think the fans and everyone should not be in doubt of that. They are really, really committed to this is going to be successful. We all want it to be a bit better, but all the processes and all the things beginning to tick behind the scenes, I am not in doubt we will see big benefits of that in the future. I am not in doubt and not in doubt that we will improve and do better throughout the season. I am not in doubt we will take a good, massive step forward in the summer as well. They are very, very committed.

We've seen Spurs so up and down, how do you know the players won’t have a down performance vs City?

I really, really wish I could say that I'm 100 per cent sure it will be top, but I have a very good feeling because you're working with human beings and that's the beauty of it. I'm convinced that we will perform well again on Sunday, because it just looks better and better. And, of course, we are facing a top team with top players, but we are ready for it.

We appreciate you talking about Semenyo but from the fans' point of view, can you understand that it is more words rather than action and they need to see more action this month?Yeah, the fans just want the best for the club. Just like I want (the best), the owners, the staff, the players, everyone wants the best for the club, but I also think it's fair to say that the transfer window is not football manager unfortunately. It is not. It would be a lot easier, but also a little bit more boring. We would not have as many good stories to talk about. In the last 30 days, you couldn't go to work basically because there is nothing to write about or talk about. So, it is very difficult the transfer market. It's an art, it's a craftsmanship.

You need to be very good at it and then there's always, there needs to be a selling club that wants to sell, there needs to be a club that wants to buy and there's a player in the middle that also wants to come. So, that's always the challenge. What I'm happy with is that I think we've already done great business in getting Conor in. I think that's a great deal and a great player. Fits everything we want for this club and the commitment to show about Semenyo, I think it is a big step, so yeah again I’m just repeating myself, but I’m not in doubt it’ll be very good going forward.

Champions League is paused now but how confident are you that when you get to the middle of March, the club will not be embroiled in a relegation battle because some fans think the team is sleeping walking into a relegation battle?

I of course understand that the results have not been good enough. No doubt about that. There has been spells in some of the games that I have been disappointed with, that we’ve addressed and we’re working on, but I think the biggest thing we've seen throughout the season is we have a team that's running hard. You can look visually, you can look at the physical numbers, you can look at all that. They're just running hard and I think a good indicator as well is some of the and we’ve talked about it a few times, the three second halves we were behind and running very, very hard to the end. I think that’s the foundation you need to build anything on, so it is one game at a time and we’re ready for City. It’s all about that.

You mentioned Porro and Richarlison are closest to being back, with Arsenal on February 22nd is that a rough target?

That could be a dream scenario and could happen. We'll know a little bit more when we get closer, but it's in that bracket.

Thomas Frank spoke honestly on Tottenham's transfer plans which included revealing their stance on Antoine Semenyo

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has confirmed the club tried to sign Antoine Semenyo. The winger was linked with a move to Spurs in the summer and during the January transfer window before he ultimately left Bournemouth to join Manchester City.

Several Premier League clubs were interested in the Ghana international, who had a £65million release clause in his contract, though City managed to pay just under that through favourable instalments.

Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool were all linked with Spurs also wanting to sign him, as now revealed by Frank.

He said: "The club are working relentlessly to do what they can to improve the squad, especially Johan, Fabio and Vinai and all those behind them. We can't be obsessed with a short term fix as we cannot limit what we do in the future.

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"I can promise the Lewis family are super committed and there is no doubt the club is clear, I will break a rule, we wanted to sign Semenyo. That is a big signing with finances and all that. It is aligned and they are the quality players we’re looking for to improve the squad."

Speaking on transfers, he later added: "The fans just want the best for the club like I do, the owners and everyone in the club. It's fair to say though that the transfer window is not like Football Manager. Maybe it would be more boring if it was with less to talk about."

The Lilywhites have already signed Conor Gallagher and Brazilian defender Souza this month while also sanctioning Brennan Johnson's move to Crystal Palace.

A number of loan changes have also been made with Spurs still in the market for more additions. Jean-Phillipe Mateta and Raheem Sterling are not targets though, football.london understands.

Further incomings are being targeted with injury problems a constant thorn in Frank's side. Pedro Porro, Lucas Bergvall, Ben Davies, Rodrigo Bentancur, Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus have all picked up issues in recent weeks.

Micky van de Ven missed the victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League, though Frank admitted he hopes to have him back for the visit of Manchester City.

That scenario playing out looks to have decreased though following his less than positive update on the Netherlands international.

He said: "Micky is a minor one. It will be touch and go. He was on the pitch yesterday and today but he's touch and go."

Frank will hope to have him available on Sunday afternoon at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium given the task that awaits with the Dane fully aware of the quality Semenyo possesses.