Football London

The Tottenham Hotspur players are set to return in stages to begin their pre-season training under Thomas Frank in around a fortnight's time as the Dane's era at the club begins.

The 51-year-old was appointed as the Spurs head coach on a three-year contract last week and for the first time in three pre-seasons it will be a different man leading the way for the players as they return to summer training at Hotspur Way in the wake of Ange Postecoglou's exit after two years in charge.

While Frank has already met some of the long-term injured players who have been going through rehabilitation at the Enfield training ground like James Maddison and Radu Dragusin, with Dejan Kulusevski expected to return during his own rehab after his honeymoon, the work will truly begin for the new head coach when the squad start to filter back to the club from their holidays and international duty.

football.london understands that the first group of Tottenham players will return to the training ground towards the back end of the first week of July to start going through their various tests, blood work and then begin training with Frank and his new-look coaching staff. Some of those players who went on international duty after the end of the season will get a few more days off if they choose to accept them and return in the second week of July.

Then there are those taking part at the U21 and U19 European Championships such as Archie Gray, Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert in the former and Mikey Moore and development squad player Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny in the latter. The quintet of young players will be offered further time off once their exploits at the tournaments come to an end.

Spurs' pre-season friendlies currently begin with the game at Luton Town on Saturday, July 26, but there is expected to be at least one more official match before that on the previous weekend. Tottenham also often arrange a training ground friendly or two behind closed doors to start sharpening up the players during pre-season.

At the end of July, Tottenham will embark on their pre-season tour to Asia, first to Hong Kong to face Arsenal on July 31 and then South Korea to take on Newcastle on August 3. Four days later and Spurs are in action in Germany against Harry Kane's Bayern Munich after the Bavarian's return from their post-Club World Cup holidays.

The strong tests will go towards preparing Tottenham for Frank's first competitive fixture and a chance to immediately challenge for a trophy with the UEFA Super Cup against PSG on August 13 in Udine. Luis Enrique's side will also be fresh back from their post-Club World Cup rest.

There appears to be no time for the usual home Spurs friendly just before the season because of that Super Cup clash and the Bayern game as the Premier League campaign then begins on Saturday, August 16 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the visit of Scott Parker's promoted Burnley side.

Tottenham could be in the market for a new centre-back this summer, although much will depend on the future of vice-captain Cristian Romero.

Spurs actually have a good batch of centre-backs to choose from currently, having added Kevin Danso to the squad in the January transfer window and with youngster Luka Vuskovic to finally arive at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

Romero and Micky van de Ven are the undisputed first-choice pairing, having struck up a really good understanding together, but that duo could be broken up with question marks over the Argentine's future.

Romero has just two years left to run on his existing contract in N17 and has been outspoken - in his own way - about the way things have gone at Spurs in the last few weeks.

The 27-year-old made a point of saying Tottenham needed to stick together in the aftermath of the incredible UEFA Europa League triumph in Bilbao, with plenty of speculation around Ange Postecoglou's future at the club.

Then, when Postecoglou was sacked by Daniel Levy, rather than joining the hordes of teammates to pay tribute to the Australian head coach, Romero waited until after Thomas Frank was appointed as new boss to send his message to Postecoglou - sending a very different message in the process, with Frank picking up an awkward situation now.

Tottenham are reluctant to sell the defender, despite interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, but could end up having their hand forced somewhat by the player himself.

Replacing Romero would be crucial and Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi has long been linked with a move to Spurs, with the Lilywhites admirers of the England international.

Guehi has plenty of suitors, however, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle United all also showing an interest in the 24-year-old. And now a new team has emerged for his signature - Liverpool.

The Reds have already spent big this summer on Jeremie Frimpong, with Bayer Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz expected to join in a whopping £116million deal too.

Liverpool want to add Milos Kerkez from Brounemouth and with Jarrel Quansah tipped to sweeten the Wirtz deal by moving to Leverkusen, a new centre-back will be required by Arne Slot.

The Reds have been getting their business done quickly so far this summer and they are preparing a "significant offer" for Guehi, according to reports.

Guehi has only 12 months left on his Eagles contract and Palace will not be able to demand the £70million-plus they wanted for the England star last summer.

With Liverpool working quickly and efficiently in the market so far, Spurs have been handed something of a new deadline if they are to complete a deal for the centre-back.

As his predecessor did before him, Thomas Frank has inherited a rather awkward situation at Tottenham when it comes to the club's star man.

Two years ago and Ange Postecoglou had to manage a situation where he knew Harry Kane was likely to leave the north London club but he could not say that as Spurs looked to negotiate the highest possible fee from Bayern Munich. Ultimately the Australian had to use Kane in friendly matches, while planning for a season in which he would not be replaced.

Frank arrived this week with a similar but not identical situation with Spurs' most well-known and respected player Son Heung-min. Unlike Kane there is no certainty that the South Korean star will be departing this summer after 10 years at the club, but with just 12 months left on his contract the likelihood is growing higher with each passing month.

football.london reported earlier this month that Son himself is also more open to a move than he ever has been before, having finally made history in lifting a European title as captain of the north London club. The attacker had admitted to Korean media ahead of the Europa League final last month that he had remained at Spurs in previous years purely because he wanted to do something so few others had been unable to.

Now Son is a legend in the club's history books, if he wasn't already, and what he has done for Tottenham over the past decade with 173 goals and 101 assists in 454 appearances means he should be able to decide what comes next for him.

"For now, I think it’s right to wait rather than say anything here since my contract remains," he told Korean journalists earlier this month. "Many people, including reporters and fans, are very curious. Rather than thinking about the future, I think it’s better to wait and see what happens in my current position. No matter where I am, I'm still a player who has always done my best and worked hard, so I think I should do well."

In just 18 days' time, Son will turn 33 and both he and the north London club will reach a crossroads in their long journey together. Son still has the ability to play at whatever level he wants - that could yet be at Spurs with Champions League back on the menu next season - while it is the last chance for the club to get a sizeable fee for a man who remains their most marketable name.

That is despite the fact that Son has locked down most of his own image rights himself across Asia. That's why you are less likely to see him in a Spurs shirt on billboards on that continent but instead advertising other major companies. Where Tottenham make their money from Son is in not only the shirt deals in the UK, but also the sponsorship and branding that come in partly because of his popularity around the world.

There are also the lucrative tours to Asia, which include contracted appearances by Son, and for the third time in four years Spurs will travel to South Korea this summer, after a few days first in Hong Kong, with games against Arsenal and then Newcastle in each country.

That creates a scenario where Tottenham cannot part with Son, if a separation is agreed, ahead of the trip to his homeland unless they would be compensated for the lost revenue. The club have a young Korean talent in Yang Min-hyeok, but the teenager has a long way to go if he is to reach the incredible levels of fame that his captain, a Premier League icon, has across Asia.

Unless a short-term new contract is signed, both Son and his new head coach will have to answer numerous questions about his future as Postecoglou did with Kane. The England captain was not made available to speak to reporters on that tour to Perth, Bangkok and Singapore in 2023, only appearing awkwardly at one event with a nod and a hello to the assembled media before getting involved in the community aspect of it with the children present.

Son will not have that luxury as he will be expected to speak and so will Frank. It is perhaps telling that the Dane did not mention the club captain at all in his first interview when speaking about the club's senior players he was looking forward to working with. It might have been a moment of forgetfulness, or something more deliberate or the Dane might have been warned against it by the club due to the uncertainty over what comes next.

One thing is for sure, it's going to be the awkward topic of the summer until a decision is made either way. For everything that he has done for Tottenham, it should be Son who makes it.

Thomas Frank could have Bryan Mbeumo unavailable for at least seven games if Tottenham complete a transfer hijack over Manchester United. The 25-year-old is expected to depart Brentford this summer - with his preferred destination being Old Trafford.

With that revealed to be the case back in May, United have since seen one formal bid rejected, with yet another offer verbalised during discussions that also fell below the Bees' £70million asking price.

The summer window then closed and, in that time, Thomas Frank was appointed as Spurs' new head coach with their chances of landing Mbeumo increasing as a result. By beating United, the side Mbeumo wants to join, in the Europa League final, the Lilywhites also secured Champions League football for the 2025/26 season.

That is two quite significant incentives for the winger to remain in London over moving up north. Nonetheless, it looks as though he is still favouring a move to United but, if a switch to Spurs becomes his priority, a serious issue has already been made clear.

Barring injury, having his services for at least 48 matches will be quite the luxury but, as things turn out, he could actually miss seven games due to international commitments.

In late December, the next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicks off with Mbeumo set to represent Cameroon. Their three group-stage matches take place on Wednesday, December 24, Sunday, December 28 and Wednesday, December 30.

Mbeumo will, therefore, play at least three games at the tournament and that means that he's guaranteed to miss Premier League games against Crystal Palace and former club Brentford. Spurs also play Liverpool four days before Cameroon's first outing with it therefore possible he is absent for that, too.

If his nation reach the knock-out stages - which they are likely to do - then he would definitely miss the visit of Sunderland in early January. The FA Cup third round is the following week and a clash at Bournemouth coming in the midweek before that with progression to the AFCON quarter-finals meaning he would miss both.

A potential Carabao Cup semi-final first leg then follows for Spurs with Mbeumo sure to remain absent for that and a home game against West Ham if Cameroon reach the final.

The worst-case scenario would be that he misses a total of eight fixtures with six of those coming in the Premier League. That is a small price to pay in order to sign a player of his talent, but it is certainly something to take note of with that same problem also likely to be faced in two years.

It is also worth noting that Spurs could also be without Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma during that period as they represent Senegal and Mali, respectively.

New Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank says he is "very, very excited" about Mathys Tel arriving at the club on a permanent deal from Bayern Munich.

The 20-year-old Frenchman became the first signing of the Frank era at Spurs after the Dane gave the green light to the move that will cost the north London club £29.8million (€35million), plus a potential further £4.2million (€5million) in add-ons. Tottenham knocked around £15million off the original £45million option to buy the player at the end of his £8.5million loan spell.

football.londonreported earlier this week that Frank was excited by the prospect of working with Tel and that he believes he can improve and that the Dane studied the Frenchman himself and felt the move was a good one. There is a feeling that the 20-year-old, who signed a six-year deal with the club, could be more suited to Frank's approach as it gives freedom to its wide players and allows them to come in off the line to link up play.

Now Frank has confirmed that report in a new interview about the attacker, who is currently at the European U21 Championships with France, alongside team-mate Wilson Odobert.

"Very, very excited about Mathys signing with a permanent deal," said the new head coach in a club interview. "I think he's a very talented player that can play across the front four positions. He's a goalscorer that we can develop even further to be more consistent in his all-round game but also to more consistently land in the right positions in the box. So I'm looking forward to it."

football.london reported this week that staff within Spurs quickly saw Tel as strong technically with an excellent training mentality as well as being a positive character and influence on the squad. He had not played many minutes for Bayern ahead of his move so needed plenty of fitness and conditioning work with the belief remaining that he still needs to improve physically, particularly in his explosiveness and the stamina required for the Premier League.

Tel is seen as promising in his one vs one duels against defenders but could benefit from extra strength to improve those moments. His finishing also requires work, as shown in some of the missed chances in the Premier League last season.

The youngster's performance against Nottingham Forest at home in April was held up internally as one of his best of the spell, with his energy and creativity from the flank, and that will be the yardstick for the player as the foundation with what can be added on top with more consistency and plenty of coaching from Frank and his team.

While the Frenchman is always eager to track back, his defensive work is also seen as requiring further development as he looks to become more than just an impact player under the new head coach.

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a £75,000 fine for two instances of homophobic chanting during their Premier League victory at Manchester United in September last season.

A statement from the FA claimed that Spurs were fined the amount "for two breaches of FA Rule E21 in relation to crowd control misconduct at its Premier League match against Manchester United FC on Sunday 29 September 2024."

The statement explained further that: "It was alleged that Tottenham Hotspur FC failed to ensure its spectators and or supporters (and anyone purporting to be supporters or followers) conduct themselves in an orderly fashion and don’t use words or otherwise behave in an improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting way with either an express or implied reference to sexual orientation around both the 49th and 79th minutes.

"Tottenham Hotspur FC admitted both charges, and an independent Regulatory Commission imposed an action plan, £150,000 fine and warning. An independent Appeal Board reduced the fine to £75,000 following an appeal by the club."

The documents surrounding the case refer to receiving reports from Kick It Out as well as media reports of two incidents of homophobic chanting during the 3-0 win at Old Trafford. The first came in the 49th minute with chants from the crowd towards Mason Mount about his Chelsea background after a foul on Rodrigo Bentancur.

Then in the 79th minute, two minutes after a goal from Dominic Solanke, chants from the crowd regarding the Spurs striker included references to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Spurs were initially asked for their observations in October and attached a report from their Safety Officer with the response: "Tottenham Hotspur’s Safety Team contacted Manchester United in advance of our fixture (as is normal practice) and arranged to send six THFC Stewards to the match. There was no specific intelligence to suggest that there would be any behavioural problems from our visiting supporters.

"All of the THFC Stewards that travelled to Old Trafford are experienced and have attended away fixtures on several occasions. Tottenham Hotspur were made aware of the alleged chanting via Proud Lilywhites on the day of the match and the club also released a statement that same day that stated the chanting was “simply unacceptable, hugely offensive and no way to show support for the team”.

The club then made plans with Brighton for their next away fixture to proactively deal with anyone singing such chants, with stewards wearing body cameras. With a statement beforehand explaining to supporters what would be happening and that it would take the strongest possible action over any incidents, there were no such chants captured on camera.

Spurs were charged on November 5 with the two breaches of the rules at the United game and in February 2025 after evidence and documents from both sides, a verdict was reached.

The regulatory commission found that "the misconduct was aggravated by the fact that there had been two separate incidents of chanting and that he chants were particularly harmful, given their nature and contents".

Their findings went on: "This harm was aggravated by the fact that this was a Premier League match, televised live to a worldwide audience. On balance, it was not persuaded that THFC had taken all reasonable steps in its preparation and planning for the fixture, dealing effectively with the incident and trying to identify those responsible."

After giving examples of where they felt the north London club had fallen down in those respects, the commission determined that "THFC’s culpability was medium, and the nature of the harm was between medium and serious".

Spurs were fined £150,000 but on June 6 had that amount halved by an appeal board that determined their culpability was in fact "low" after finding that some of the statements made by the commission had been contrary to evidence provided by the club or were not relevant.

The Thomas Frank era has begun at Tottenham Hotspur with the new head coach meeting plenty of people behind of the scenes at the club.

The Dane, who replaced Ange Postecoglou this month, was at the club's Hotspur Way training complex from Tuesday after his post-season holidays and began meeting various people around Spurs. On Wednesday evening, Tottenham put out the first interview with Frank in which he outlined his plans for the club and spoke about various topics.

There was plenty to glean from the nine-minute interview which went up on the club's website and YouTube channel and was clipped up across their social media accounts.

Here are five things we took away from Frank's first address to the Spurs fans and the public in general.

Great communicator

This is no surprise. We expected that when we eventually heard from the new Spurs head coach it would be an interview that would tick all the boxes. Frank was honest about the ups and downs that are to come but also promised the kind of football the supporters will want to see. Postecoglou could always get his message across and Frank will have no trouble in doing the same to either his players or the supporters.

"The intention is to play aggressive front-footed football and I know the ethos and the history of the club is massive on attacking football, and I think there's so much attacking talent in the squad. I'm very excited about that," he said.

"They've clearly shown over the last two seasons that the ability to score goals is fantastic, and I'm very, very in on that. I love a team that is scoring goals, very, very big on principles. What we do on the final third, in terms of creating chances, and putting balls in the box, playing in behind and stuff like that, I think it's key. So just want to build on that attacking football, we already have here in the club."

Frank has already made a positive impression on staff within Hotspur Way in the time he's had at the Enfield training ground so far. He has a warm and inquisitive personality and has been looking to understand how it all works there and what everyone he meets in the building does as any new manager would.

With 800 people working within the club the 51-year-old might not get around to everyone but he needs to help build the same kind of togetherness he had at Brentford but on a larger scale.

Players met

The Dane has already met at least a couple of Tottenham players as on Tuesday he took a trip into the club gym and found some of the players going through rehabilitation on long-term injuries.

The Spurs vice-captain James Maddison and defender Radu Dragusin were both shown meeting their new head coach, calling him 'gaffer' as expected, and Frank was shown asking how the England midfielder was getting on.

"Yeah [working hard]. Had a little break with the family. Had a nice check-up with the specialist yesterday," he said.

Frank then asked if everything was ok to which Maddison replied: "Yeah, yeah. It was good. Positive to be fair. All about schedule stuff."

You would imagine someone like Maddison, as a vice-captain of the team, might have had a longer chat with his new boss at some point this week.

Spurs' other long-term injury absence, Dejan Kulusevski, appears to be on his honeymoon after marrying his partner Eldina, but will meet his fellow Scandinavian in the near future.

Son and those not mentioned

Much will be made of the fact that when Frank steered the interview towards talented senior players he liked in the Tottenham squad he did not mention the club's captain and most famous player Son Heung-min.

"When I say talented, it's not only the young players, it's also some of the more experienced players. How can we get the best out of them. Let's say Dominic Solanke, a big fan of him, in terms of his abilities. I'm sure we'll make him score a lot of goals," said the new head coach.

"How can we play with Bentancur, you know, Maddison, how can we get that, but of course the younger ones as well. I think it's all players that we need to develop and make perform on the highest level. But of course Bergvall, Archie Gray, Odobert, Udogie, all of them, I think have a high ceiling. There's others I haven't mentioned, it's the whole squad and I'm looking forward to it."

There of course could have been parts of the interview that did not make it into the final edit, but it would seem unlikely to chop out any mention of Son, especially ahead of this summer's lucrative tour to Hong Kong and the skipper's homeland of South Korea.

It could also be pointed out that the likes of Cristian Romero, Kulusevski, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro and Yves Bissouma were among those senior players not mentioned as well, but with Son he's just too big a name. With just 12 months left on his contract and the captain believed to be open to a move this summer, perhaps Frank was wary of speaking about someone whose future is in doubt being a key component only to lose him later this summer as Postecoglou found with Kane. The Dane will be asked plenty about Son in the weeks ahead anyway, especially when Spurs get to Korea.

It's also worth noting that Frank spoke about trying to find a place in his team for Bentancur, who also has a year left on his deal. That would suggest a new contract could well be incoming as expected for the Uruguayan.

The hierarchy

New Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham has been shown giving Frank a tour around the training ground, a relative newcomer himself, and the incoming head coach spoke about his dealings with the former Arsenal man, chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange, who he knows well from working together years ago in Denmark.

"They've done a very, very good process. I would say Daniel Levy and Vinai and Johan Lange. I've had very good conversations and meetings with them, where we discussed everything in depth, details about club structure, processes, and of course I came with my view on things and how I saw it and my ideas and the way I want to do things and how I try to build a team and the club, and of course it's not, it's not just me," he said.

"I think it's very important to say, yes, the head coach is an important person, but if I don't have good people around me, it's impossible. You can't do anything alone in my opinion. If you want to do something quick, you can go alone, if you want to do something big or achieve something big, you go together. So it's definitely a thing about doing things together. Me, staff and players.

"I think the alignment is key from top to bottom, and of course it starts from Daniel and Vinai and Johan and me, and the more the four of us can be aligned, just like a unit and like unbreakable unit, the stronger we will be, and there will be ups and downs. I think right now it's a fairy tale. Everyone is happy. The sun is shining. It's fantastic, but we haven't played one game yet.

"Hopefully we win a lot. We'll work very hard every single day to make sure we create as many magic moments for the fans, and put them together and hopefully at the end of the season there will be a very good season, but the alignment in terms of structure, processes, transfers, squad, playing style, culture, all that is is key."

Venkatesham adds a new layer in between the manager and the chairman, which could be a positive thing for Frank, as will his long-standing relationship with Lange. With the average shelf life for Spurs managers being between 18 months and two years, the new man will need all the help he can get to beat that average with strong connections above.

Classy touch

With the kind of person Frank is, there was always likely to be a mention of Postecoglou's work and if you're replacing someone who has just won the club's first trophy in 17 years, it would be difficult not to. However, the Dane's words on his predecessor showed real warmth and understanding while looking to a future building on what the Australian had started.

"Huge congratulations to the club, to the team. Huge congratulations to Ange," he said. "He will forever be a legend in Tottenham, and congratulations to him for that. I think it's very important to understand that we all stand on the shoulders of others, so I'm going in on the foundation that Ange has built and his coaching staff, and I'm very humble about that and I'll do my very best to continue the great work they put in.

"But the feeling and the excitement and the joy and the happiness you could see in the fans' faces and the pictures you saw was wow. So hopefully we can create more of those moments, that will be the ultimate dream to do that and hey no one can say they're not winners, the team and the players are winners. Now we need to do our best to become serial winners in the future."

Rio Ferdinand has labelled Bryan Mbeumo's Premier League record "ridiculous", as the Brentford star looks set to leave his club this summer amid links to Tottenham and Manchester United.

However, Ferdinand has also cautioned that the Cameroonian will need to adapt to a significant increase in pressure. United had an initial £55million bid rejected for the 25 year old earlier this month, but negotiations between the two clubs are said to be ongoing.

Mbeumo has expressed his desire to join United amid interest from Tottenham. His impressive form in the Premier League, where he scored 20 goals in the 2024/25 season, has made him a top target for the Red Devils.

Ferdinand, a huge admirer of Mbeumo, believes the attacker's proven track record in the Premier League would enable him to make an instant impact if he does arrive at Old Trafford. Nonetheless, the former defender has warned Mbeumo that he will need to cope with heightened expectations in Manchester.

"Mbeumo wants to come, I know it," Ferdinand said on his show, Rio Ferdinand Presents. "His stats over the last three seasons in the Premier League are up there, by the way. Goals and assists, goal chances, ridiculous. Again, another proven Premier League player," reports the Manchester Evening News.

"This is what I like, [playing] in the Premier League. There isn't no adjustment business. The only thing there will be [is an] adjustment because of the size of the club.

"They don't have to do that when they go to Arsenal. There isn't that pressure, the badge isn't as heavy. It's heavy, but it's not as heavy."

Thomas Frank will have to get used to receiving injury news at Tottenham and he got a positive update from one of his players to start his time at the club.

While being introduced to people around the club's Hotspur Way complex on Tuesday, the new Spurs head coach met midfielder James Maddison in the gym at the Enfield training ground. The England international missed the end of the season and the Europa League final after being forced off with a knee problem midway through the second half of the semi-final first leg win over Bodo/Glimt in May.

The 28-year-old, who managed 23 direct goal involvements in 45 matches last season, was initially expected to return during pre-season from the ligament injury.

The Tottenham vice-captain met Frank on Tuesday for the first time since the Dane was appointed to replace Ange Postecoglou and delivered his own update on how his recovery is going.

"Yeah [working hard]. Had a little break with the family. Had a nice check-up with the specialist yesterday," he said.

Frank then asked if everything was ok to which Maddison replied: "Yeah, yeah. It was good. Positive to be fair. All about schedule stuff."

Both Maddison and Radu Dragusin, also working in the gym, predictably referred to the new head coach as 'gaffer' on their initial meetings and the midfielder was mentioned by Frank in his first club interview when talking about his squad.

"I think it's a very talented squad. I think it's a very good squad. So yeah, very excited about starting working with them and, of course, you know, when you follow the Premier League, you see the other teams, of course I've seen Tottenham, I've seen some fantastic performances from the team over the last years, and I'm very excited about that," said the 51-year-old.

"I think there's big, big potential in it, but of course I'm looking from the outside, so I'm looking forward to get to know them, to be around them, to feel them, to understand them, to work with them on a training pitch, and that's where you really get the big understanding, and understand the relationships between players and how you can get the best out of them.

"Of course, I got an idea already, you know, my head is spinning, how can we play, who can I put them together and all that."

He added: "When I say talented, it's not only the young players, it's also some of the more experienced players. How can we get the best out of them. Let's say Dominic Solanke, a big fan of him, in terms of his abilities. I'm sure we'll make him score a lot of goals.

"How can we play with Bentancur, you know, Maddison, how can we get that, but of course the younger ones as well. I think it's all players that we need to develop and make perform on the highest level. But of course Bergvall, Archie Gray, Odobert, Udogie, all of them, I think have a high ceiling. There's others I haven't mentioned, it's the whole squad and I'm looking forward to it."

Thomas Frank has finally given his first interview as Tottenham Hotspur head coach.

The Dane was appointed as Ange Postecoglou's successor on Thursday, June 12. But Spurs supporters had to wait for six days to hear from their new boss.

Frank had undoubtedly been on holiday, given the timing of the appointment less than a month after the 2024/25 Premier League season had ended. But the 51-year-old is now in the building at Hotspur Way and raring to get stuck in to the new challenge having arrived from London rivals Brentford.

Tottenham posted the full interview with the new boss on their official website on Wednesday evening, with Frank opening up on a number of things including his playing style, his excitement at the opportunity and working with chairman Daniel Levy, new CEO Vinai Venkatesham and technical director Johan Lange.

You can read every word Frank said in that interview here.

When asked about working with the Spurs hierarchy, Frank made one reference to transfers, without being pushed. The summer transfer window is in full flow, but Spurs have only completed the signing of Mathys Tel on a permanent deal so far, and that was a reasonably simple deal to get done with the Frenchman spending the 2024/25 season on loan with Spurs having an option to buy him at the end of it.

Frank said: "Hopefully we win a lot. We'll work very hard every single day to make sure we create as many magic moments for the fans, and put them together and hopefully at the end of the season there will be a very good season, but the alignment in terms of structure, processes, transfers, squad, playing style, culture, all that is is key."

And the next deal may see someone already at the club put pen to paper on a new contract.

There have been talks in recent weeks of midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur signing a new deal, with his current contract due to expire in 2026.

When talking about the squad he is inheriting, Frank made reference to a number of players specifically, with Bentancur one he was very quick to mention, suggesting he is a big fan of the Uruguayan.

"How can we get the best out of them," he asked. "Let's say Dominic Solanke, a big fan of him, in terms of his abilities. I'm sure we'll make him score a lot of goals.

"How can we play with Bentancur, you know, [James] Maddison, how can we get that, but of course the younger ones as well. I think it's all players that we need to develop and make perform on the highest level. But of course [Lucas] Bergvall, Archie Gray, [Wilson] Odobert, [Destiny] Udogie, all of them, I think have a high ceiling. There's others I haven't mentioned, it's the whole squad and I'm looking forward to it."

Mentioning Bentancur after Solanke hints that Frank wants to build his midfield around the Uruguayan and that a new contract being agreed is imperative.