Football London

Thomas Frank will have to tread that fine line between naming a strong Tottenham team to face League One side Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup while also needing rest various players.

Spurs finished an unbeaten first week after the international break with victories against West Ham United and Villarreal and a comeback draw at Brighton and a number of players took part in all three games across those seven days. With the visit of Wolves on Saturday evening in the Premier League, Frank will likely have to shuffle his pack to face Rovers, who sit seventh in League One, and feature on-loan Tottenham youngster Damola Ajayi.

Frank told football.london on Monday that goalkeeper Antonin Kinksy will start between the sticks in the third round tie but also confirmed that Randal Kolo Muani and Ben Davies remain out with a dead leg and twisted knee respectively.

Frank had previously ruled out Dominic Solanke but the striker did return to training with the squad on Tuesday following his ankle injury, alongside summer arrival Kota Takai, who is yet to appear in a matchday squad following a plantar fascia problem in his foot. That means one of them could potentially be a surprise addition to the bench.

That also goes for Radu Dragusin, who has been training with the squad for a couple of weeks now following his return from a cruciate ligament injury suffered in January. Frank will have to decide when it is the right time for the Croatian centre-back to step up to match action.

In the mean time that leaves the Tottenham boss without many centre-back to rotate with, which means either one of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven starts with Kevin Danso with them potentially playing a half each, or teenager Archie Gray plays in central defence alongside the Austria international.

There are also likely to be starts for Xavi Simons, Djed Spence, Pape Matar Sarr, Brennan Johnson and Mathys Tel after being named among the substitutes at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.

Sixteen-year-olds Jun'ai Byfield and Luca Williams-Barnett have been training with the first team and were not used in the U21s' defeat at Plymouth in the Vertu Trophy, with Frank admitting this match presented an opportunity to give youngsters a chance from the bench.

Here's the Tottenham team we reckon the Dane might select to face the Football League side.

Thomas Frank has made it very clear that he would like England captain Harry Kane back in a Tottenham shirt and has also spoken about the club's next potential homegrown star Luca Williams-Barnett.

Kane is believed to have a release clause in his Bayern Munich contract, which will be worth £56.7million next summer if the striker activates it by informing the German side, before the end of January, of his intention to leave. Ex-Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy confirmed after Kane's sale in 2023 that the north London club also inserted a buy-back clause into the deal and that gives them first option on the prolific forward.

With Kane just 47 goals off Alan Shearer's Premier League record of 260, the 32-year-old England skipper has always been expected to return to England at some point.

There are said to be fears within Bayern that after three seasons they could lose Kane, who has netted a remarkable 98 goals in 103 games for the Bavarian giants, along with laying on 29 assists for his team-mates, before the four-year deal he signed comes to a close.

With the Premier League's top sides currently all packed to the brim with expensively-assembled strike forces, a move back to the north London club where he is the record goalscorer could end up being the most likely return route for Kane.

"I think there’s a lot of Tottenham fans including myself who would like to see Kane back," admitted Spurs boss Frank. "He’s a top player. Personally, I don't think he will do it right now, if I’m honest, he’ll probably stay in Bayern and continue performing well.

"He was top scorer last year and won the championship, he’s doing fantastic now. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Myself, I’m a traveller, I like to travel, I like to explore things as well. He’s been here for many years so why not enjoy the time at Bayern a little bit more.

"But he’s welcome. If he wants to join us, he’s more than welcome."

He added: "I didn’t know there was a clause. I see two things, one he is an unbelievable player who did fantastically for Spurs and is doing fantastically for Bayern. Top player."

Over the years, Kane developed ties with the powerful Lewis family who own Tottenham and often holidayed at their Bahamas resort.

The biggest obstacle to any return would be the England captain's wages, which are reported to be around £400,000-a-week at Bayern. That is far beyond Tottenham's current wage structure.

However, the Lewis family have taken on a more prominent role at the club with the departure of Levy and are expected to inject funds and alter the way Spurs operate going forward. That could mean a change to the wage-to-revenue ratio that is currently the lowest in the Premier League.

Kane was one of Tottenham's own after coming through the ranks to become their top scorer and now those within the club have high hopes for another potential star in their ranks in 16-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett.

The attacker was named on the bench in the Premier League and Europa League last season during the club's injury crisis without making his debut after starring for the U18s. Now the teenager has been training with a fuller first team under Frank after impressing in the UEFA Youth League and for Spurs' U21s as well as on his England U18s debut with a stream of goals and assists across his appearances at various levels.

Despite his age, Williams-Barnett netted a first half hat-trick against older defenders for the U21s at Leicester on Friday night.

"Of course he's been training with us, Luca, a few times and I get good info from the academy and from our transition coach, Stuart [Lewis]. So yeah, I'm well aware of Luca's talent and I like what I see. He's young, obviously, but his composure and technique and vision is very good," said Frank.

"I think it's the fine balance that he needs to play and develop somewhere where he gets pushed enough but it's not too tough. And other times where he needs to be pushed very hard and it's tricky for him to cope with the intensity or the physicality. So it's just to try to strike that balance."

When asked whether Williams-Barnett could be in the squad to face Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Spurs boss appeared to hint that it might happen.

"Yeah, he's a player that we like a lot," said Frank. "Let's see tomorrow, but that could be an opportunity."

Two senior players, albeit still both young at 20, that Frank is also looking to develop are Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel. The Tottenham head coach has belief in both of the France U21 international team-mates to become key players for the club in the years ahead.

"Both of them are exciting and good players. Let’s start with Wilson. I think his game against Brighton was promising," he said. "I liked the variation in his game so he could go on the outside and produce a cross with his left foot. He could go inside and cut across. He combined nicely.

"Good link-up play as well, good understanding of his team-mates, worked hard. Probably a little bit of… I hate to say end product, I don’t want to say that so I’ll say arriving in the box. That’s where he’ll score most of the goals. I think he’s in a good place."

He added: "Mathys, the same. I like what I’ve seen so much in training. I think he played a decent game against West Ham as a striker. Maybe both of them are best to the left so that gives me a nice challenge in terms of that.

"What I’m convinced about is that Tottenham have two very good players that I am very convinced will be very good for us over the next years."

One figure at the north London club who has been in the news this week is Fabio Paratici. The club's former managing director of football resigned in April 2023 after receiving a 30-month global ban for his involvement in the "Plusvalenza" Juventus scandal, which involved claims that officials had inflated the official transfer fees with other Serie A clubs to create millions in "capital gains" for tax purposes and allow more to be spent in the transfer market than financial fair play rules would have allowed.

The 53-year-old was retained by Spurs as a consultant, used particularly during transfer windows, but in recent months has become a more prominent presence at Tottenham games again with an expected return to an official role at the club.

There was more drama though around Paratici this week when a plea request was accepted by an Italian judge to settle a false accounting case as part of the Prisma criminal investigation. Among the former Juventus executives, Paratici was handed a suspended jail sentence of 18 months, although the plea from the group does not involve an admission of guilt or recognition of liability.

Frank was asked on Tuesday about his involvement with Paratici since he had arrived as head coach at the club this summer.

"Fabio is a consultant. Of course I speak to him. I’ve spoken to him mainly in the transfer window while he's part of the group that works and deals with the transfers. I've got a good relationship with him," said the Dane.

Thomas Frank had the Carabao Cup on his mind on Tuesday at his press conference ahead of Tottenham's third round clash with League One side Doncaster Rovers.

Spurs reached the semi-finals of the competition last season and will now begin their Carabao Cup journey under a new head coach in Frank after a strong start to life under the 51-year-old. The Dane also reached the semi-finals of the tournament where they lost to Tottenham in January 2021 .

At this press conference at Hotspur, Frank delivered injury updates on Dominic Solanke, Kota Takai, Randal Kolo Muani and Ben Davies and discussed what kind of team he will put out against the Football League visitors at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night.

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

What's the latest team news? How is the squad looking?

It looks good. Everyone available last time is available again.

What's the Dejan Kulusevski return timeline, do you know a month yet?

Of course Kulusevski is a top player, I always liked him when I saw him from afar. He is a key player for us, a key player for me. Instead of putting an exact month, I just want him back as soon as possible. The medical guys and Kulusevski are working very hard on that. It’s not tomorrow but hopefully not too far away.

What's your ambition for the season with the cups?

I don’t know any coach or manager or players or club that don’t want to compete and try to win. It’s the same with me, same with the club. Going into the Carabao Cup tomorrow, really looking forward to it. We will do everything we can to try to win it.

You are in a tournament, we play for that so of course we will do that. Naturally, there will be a little bit of rotation. There should be with all respect to Doncaster who will most likely play a fantastic game. Graeme McCann I know him very well as a coach.

I faced him in the Championship. He is a very good guy, done well with the team. Plays very offensive football. It’s a team we need to respect but we need to our highest level and get into the next round.

How much would it mean to lift a trophy and is that one of the reasons you joined?

Of course I'd like to win. No doubt about that. For me, I think we probably need to take one game at a time, make sure we get past Doncaster tomorrow. And then if we continue progressing then ask me that question when we get to the final. Before that, it's about winning the next one because if we don't win the next one, there's no reason to speak about what's happening maybe in the future.

Are Kolo Muani and Ben Davies available?

They will both not be available for selection tomorrow. It's minor injuries, both of them. It's just too short a turnaround unfortunately.

And Kota Takai and Dominic Solanke, how are they getting on?

Progressing. Both trained today with the team, so that's good.

How difficult is it keeping Antonin Kinsky happy as he came in as a starter at Slavia Prague and is he likely to play tomorrow?

Antonin will start tomorrow, so I'm very happy with him as a goalkeeper. I think he's a very good goalkeeper and I think he's got very good potential. For any player that is not starting, they're not happy. Some probably understand it a bit more, or outfielder sometimes. If you're young, you try to get your way into it, but at a certain stage you always want to play. The same a bit with the goalkeeper. The easy thing for Antonin was to stay at his former club and now it's a bigger stage, a bigger challenge. I think he's got a great future here at Tottenham. I like what I see from him. He just needs to keep training well and doing well.

Damola Ajayi can play tomorrow after Spurs gave permission - what do you make of that rule? Obviously there's a chance for him to cause an upset against his own team.

I think it's OK. He's on loan at another club. I know the Premier League have this if you're on loan from a club, you're not allowed to play [rule]. We decided to loan him out because it was good for his development. I've done that a thousand times. Maybe not a thousand times, a lot of times at Brentford, but we haven't been that lucky to face one of our own players. It is what it is. I think it's a great opportunity for him.

On the injury front, is there any chance we can see Kulusevski before the end of the year?

Yes, there's a good chance for that.

I just wanted to ask you about set-pieces, how often do you train them and do you have specific routines or do you adapt to the opposition?

We have specific principles and also specific routines. No doubt about that. I think it's very important, open play and set-pieces. It's very important to have those principles in place and then tweak them a little bit towards the opponent, depending on their system, how they defend, let's say corners or wide free kicks. Then we can tweak it a little bit. But we can't change it too much because then we need to be consistent in the messages.

During your time at Brentford and different cup competitions, sorry to bring up Gillingham and Plymouth, have you learned anything from those experiences?

Did we lose to Gillingham, we did. It was another team we beat. It definitely taught me that cup tournaments are cup tournaments and everything is possible both ways. Before those two games you referenced, I went into them very focused, very aware of what could happen. I clearly remember Gillingham, as you said, I remember we put a very strong team out there.

But it can happen, it's football. That's why we love it, it's a low-scoring game. But tomorrow we'll put a strong team out there. We face an opponent, Doncaster, that are doing well in League One. We need to be on it and it's all about us. Just a final one for me.

What's your relationship with Vinai Venkatesham been like?

I really like working together with Vinai. Obviously I didn't know him before I joined Spurs. From day one he comes across like a fantastic person. Really a person that I think understands people and is very approachable. As far as I learned or experienced his processes, calm, good processes, listen, and from that he takes good, calm decisions. That's a strength in this sometimes a tiny bit emotional football world.

You have had Jun'ai Byfield on the bench a few times this season, with Ben Davies and Randal Kolo Muani out, could we see a couple more younger players on the bench and could they potentially get on if scenario allows?

I think it would be a great opportunity to have some of the younger players on the bench and I always think it's a privileged position to be in if you can give anyone a debut, especially a young player. That's always special and a big moment, so definitely I'm open for that. Of course they need to show it in the Under-18s, Under-21s, national-team, our trainings and of course if they deserve it, yeah that could be an opportunity.

With Mathys Tel, he's played mainly down the middle but are you eager to try him on the left?

Yeah, I would say he plays all his games for the French Under-21s down the middle, he played for us down the middle. I'm definitely aware that he can play to the side as well, also to the left and maybe that is his best position. Maybe, I would like to say, so that's definitely something I have in mind to use as well. It's always that you need to juggle everything. There's a few players also quite good down the left! And that's not that they maybe are better than Mathys, it can just be how do you construct a team.

Ange Postecoglou and Antonio Conte made sweeping changes in the cups and were heavily criticised. You will have to make changes but how aware are you of the expectation of Tottenham fans to take this seriously and try to go all the way?

I'm very aware (of the expectation). I think it's that balance that how can I say it transparently, as I said, I would like us to get there where we can compete in all four tournaments throughout the year. If you want to compete in all four tournaments, you need to be good enough to pick the right team every single time. And I promise you before I pick the team, it looks like an unbelievably good plan and also to be brave enough sometimes with the selection both ways to I think every single time we put a team out there,

I think it goes super strong, but I think we're also aware that no players can play 60 games x 90 minutes. So, it's that balance we need to hit throughout the season, not only because we are facing Doncaster. It could be Brighton last week, it was Villarreal, you know, we made some changes and we need to hit that perfect number of players that rotates and then a strong team. And it will be a strong team tomorrow.

Thomas Frank is speaking to the media on Tuesday ahead of Tottenham's Carabao Cup third round match against Doncaster Rovers.

Spurs reached the semi-finals of the competition last season and took a first leg lead to Anfield only to lose heavily to Liverpool with a makeshift defence and bench predominantly made up of teenagers. Now they are starting their Carabao Cup journey under a new head coach in Thomas Frank after a promising start to life under the Dane.

Frank will deliver an update on Dominic Solanke, having previously ruled the striker out of this game but confirming last week that the 28-year-old was back out training on the grass individually following his ankle injury. The Spurs boss had also told football.london ahead of the draw at Brighton that 21-year-old summer signing Kota Takai was set to return to training with the team this week after a plantar fascia problem that struck soon after arriving.

The Lilywhites head coach will also give an update on whether Randal Kolo Muani has recovered from a dead leg and Ben Davies from a twisted knee. Frank will also speak about what kind of team he will select to face League One side Doncaster at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night with plenty of players needing minutes and others a rest following three games in a week, before Wolves visit in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to Frank. Scroll down his latest updates from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

There has not been much for Thomas Frank to complain about since he was appointed Spurs head coach but from the outside looking in, there still appears to be one missing piece of his Spurs jigsaw. When beloved skipper Son Heung-min departed for pastures new in the MLS with LAFC, it was clear he would need to be replaced.

Yet how do you go about replacing a player who is virtually irreplaceable at Tottenham? It's no secret Spurs were striving to land two attackers in the final week of the summer transfer window and they got precisely that in Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani. Perhaps it was a surprise, however, that another striker - as opposed to left winger - arrived in the form of PSG outcast Kolo Muani in what was undeniably an opportunistic loan swoop that helped bolster Spurs' depth at the top end of the pitch.

While Simons can operate from the left flank, he is primarily a No.10, even if he likes to drift into a wide left role and come inside onto his stronger right foot. That is what happened when he made a notably explosive impact from the bench in the second half at Brighton but it's clear he was predominantly signed to create from central areas.

Wilson Odobert flattered to deceive on his first Premier League start at the Amex while Brennan Johnson is currently facing an uphill battle to pin down a starting berth under Frank. Mohammed Kudus has already locked down the right wing role and Johnson's minutes have fluctuated since the beginning of the season despite netting in consecutive matches at the start of the campaign.

While the rest of Frank's side looks near complete, the left flank has become somewhat of a problem position despite the vast amount of options at Spurs' disposal because no player looks a nailed on, natural fit. Back in June, Tottenham made an enquiry for Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo. The response from the Cherries was firm; they had no intention of selling and it would take an offer in the region of £70million to alter that stance.

Spurs decided to look elsewhere but on the basis of his recent form, he would certainly have been worth a punt. Tottenham had cash at their disposal, for several weeks they flirted with a big-money move for Manchester City's Savinho but Pep Guardiola's side were reluctant to do business with the Europa League winners.

At 25 years old, Semenyo is now rapidly approaching his prime and it would not be a shock to see him at the centre of a transfer scramble in 2026 - despite signing a new deal with the Cherries this summer. He already has five Premier League goal involvements to his name - three goals and two assists - and he would have added some much needed speed, skill and firepower to Frank's forward line.

Manchester United were also interested but neither United nor Tottenham had any intention of getting close to Bournemouth's sky-high valuation of the Ghana international. Transfer fees, particularly in the Premier League, have become more inflated than ever. Some may feel it would be frowned upon or risky to blow £70m on a player like Semenyo, who in the past has shown patchy form, but on the flip side, the results could have been frightening.

Frank has developed a proven track record for developing talent and while the likes of Mathys Tel and Odobert still have huge scope to develop, there are no guarantees they will fulfil their untapped potential in N17. The signing of Semenyo would have represented a statement of intent and after his opening-day brace at Anfield, Spurs could have been forgiven for wondering if in fact, he was worth the cash.

For now, Simons is likely to receive further opportunities from the left because Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall have all started the season in impressive form. When Dejan Kulusevski returns to fitness, there will also be increased competition for places in central areas.

However, Semenyo's 1v1 and ball-carrying ability would have provided Frank with something different and it's clear to see he is one of the Premier League's - if not the - most improved players in recent seasons. It really feels as though he would have been a great, natural fit for Frank's daring attacking football.

READ NEXT:

Spurs defender Luka Vuskovic has claimed he suffered a broken finger before netting his first goal of the season on loan at Hamburger SV. The young Croatian centre-back officially joined Tottenham in July after a deal was struck with Hajduk Split back in September 2023.

The 18-year-old caught the eye in pre-season, netting and assisting in a 2-0 friendly victory over League One side Reading, before signing on the dotted line with HSV in late August.

He is now off the mark in the Bundesliga after finding the target in Saturday's 2-1 home victory over Heidenheim. However, Vuskovic has now revealed he fears he fractured his finger when beating his right hand against the post in frustration after missing a chance in the 27th minute.

The teenager told German outlet Hamburger Morgenpost after the game: “I probably broke a finger. It’s an old injury; I broke my finger a few months ago. But I was so angry about missing such a great opportunity that I hit the post with my hand. It will heal, don’t worry."

Vuskovic also shared after rifling in his first goal, adding: “I’m very proud, very emotional, and hope it wasn’t my last goal. I just hoped the goal wouldn’t be taken back."

The Croatia international's injury was evidently minor as the strike came just 18 minutes after he thumped the post in anger. His older brother, Mario, also plays for Hamburg but he is currently unavailable due to a doping ban which will run until November 2026.

Still, Spurs ace Vuskovic has been well received by the HSV faithful, particularly given he snubbed a number of other loan offers from Europe to move to the German side.

He continued when asked to comment on his relationship with his brother: “This means a lot to me. Ever since I started playing football, he’s wished me good luck before every game. I’m really proud to have a brother like that."

Tottenham made it clear they did not want to include a buy-option within the loan agreement with Hamburg as they feel the young prospect has a huge future in north London. Thomas Frank is believed to have weighed up keeping Vuskovic as part of his squad this season but collectively, the club decided his development would be better served with regular minutes.

Last season, Vuskovic spent time on loan at KVC Westerlo in Belgium, where he scored seven goals in 36 Jupiler Pro League appearances.

READ NEXT:

Lucas Bergvall has spoken about his change of heart regarding a proposed transfer to FC Barcelona - following a 'strange' situation which ultimately led him to join Tottenham instead.

The 19-year-old completed his move to north London from Djurgarden for a fee of £8.5million last year. However, the switch was far from straightforward, as Catalan giants Barcelona also pursued him.

A new BBC documentary highlights the reasoning behind Bergvall's decision to snub the Spanish giants, with The Athletic's Spurs reporter Jay Harris explaining the 'hectic' circumstances behind the midfielder's choice.

"They fly over, they meet their sporting director Deco in the mountains," he said. "This is when things get a little bit hectic, they were in a restaurant, they are around 150 fans, paparazzi, trying to get in the restaurant, trying to get a glimpse of him."

Bergvall added: "Yeah, it was strange and I never seen that ever before. Many paparazzi and such a stressful day."

But, in the end, the player and his entourage decided that Tottenham was the best location for him.

Former Brommapojkarna sporting director Peter Kisfaludy revealed that former manager Ange Postecoglou played a key role in this. "I think Postecoglou was really important, when he met him," he said.

"If you come here, trust me, you're going to play."

The youngster took a few months to adapt to the rhythm of the Premier League but, once he did, he became a key player in the Spurs team. One player, in particular, has been influential in helping him adjust to the English top-flight.

"It was a really big moment for me, for my family, for everybody around me," the youngster said about the move to Spurs. "I still remember the day completely.

"In the beginning it was a bit strange, new culture, a lot of traffic. Everybody was so kind to me and helpful and especially [Dejan] Kulusevski. He helped me to come into the group and to learn - and I'm really grateful for that.

"He's been great since the beginning to help me with everything. Not only on the pitch but also off the pitch. He's the example you want in the team. He's top."

Tottenham Hotspur were forced to rescue a point on away soil against Brighton, leaving it late to do so.

The encounter began with an electric start from Fabian Hurzeler's side. Yankuba Minteh established their lead after just eight minutes, and a second goal had been added by Yasin Ayari as the half-hour mark passed.

But Spurs were not taking this lying down and managed to salvage some dignity before the break - Richarlison scored his third goal of the season from a true poacher's position.

A strong second-half effort finally resulted in the equaliser, with Mohammed Kudus' cross diverted into his own net by Jan Paul van Hecke.

With numerous flashpoints in a Premier League match such as this, it is only naturally that lesser moments fall under the radar, and especially so when a rule involved is not one that supporters see enforced every week.

This would be referring to one incident involving Spurs midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who was making his fourth start under Thomas Frank at the Amex Stadium.

In the first half Spurs had a corner kick. The 19-year-old could be seen making a darting run from the back post to the near post but with one crucial caveat - Bergvall ran behind the Brighton goal instead of across the front.

He wasn't as sneaky as he thought he might have been, with referee Chris Kavanagh stopping play to talk to the smiling teenager.

Under Law 11 of the FA rulebook used by English top-flight officials: "A player who deliberately leaves the field of play and re-enters without the referee’s permission and is not penalised for offside and gains an advantage, must be cautioned."

Kavanagh did not produce the yellow card, therefore Bergvall could consider himself fortunate.

The Swedish international wasn't booked before this illegal move, nor after, so a booking from this incident would not have contributed towards a sending off and a subsequent one-game suspension.

Had it done, he would have been back in Premier League action immediately next weekend against Wolves as the suspension would have been served against Doncaster Rovers in Carabao Cup duties this coming midweek.

Spurs' latest result moved them ahead of bitter rivals Arsenal on points into second in the Premier League standings.

The Gunners have the chance to jump ahead when they face Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, as do Bournemouth when they host Newcastle United.

This was a game that wrapped up Tottenham's past, present and hopefully future all in one manically tied package.

It's tough enough to go to Brighton at the best of times with the Seagulls unbeaten at home against the Premier League's traditional big six since the start of last season, having bested all of them apart from draws against Arsenal and now Spurs.

Yet Tottenham could be forgiven for being mentally scarred by their collapse on the south coast just under a year ago as they threw away a two-goal half-time lead that day to lose under Ange Postecoglou.

The two goals they conceded on Saturday afternoon bore a similarity to some of the high line defending witnessed that day. Yet this time the second half at the Amex Stadium brought a happier ending for Tottenham under Thomas Frank.

The visitors conceded just eight minutes into the contest at the Amex Stadium. With Brighton's first attack of the day, Georginio Rutter picked out Yankuba Minteh's run and the Gambian attacker raced behind Spurs' high line, rounded Guglielmo Vicario and poked the ball home.

The Seagulls doubled their lead half an hour in with a powerful effort from Yasin Ayari that Vicario should have dealt with from that angle and distance.

Spurs grabbed a lifeline just before the interval when Mohammed Kudus' shot struck Richarlison and the Brazilian striker spun and lashed home the loose ball in the six-yard box.

Frank's side dominated the second half with a game-changing second half cameo from Xavi Simons causing all manner of problems through the centre of the pitch. With eight minutes to go the Dutchman found Kudus on the right. The Ghanaian's curling cross hit Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke on the leg and flew into the hosts' net.

It was just reward for a comeback full of character. That character was also being shown on the sidelines.

Frank is a lively presence at the best of times but on Saturday he came close to boiling over at one point and channelling his inner Antonio Conte.

It came just moments before he introduced Xavi to the party on 61 minutes. Richarlison had executed what appeared to be a regulation challenge on Brighton left-back Ferdi Kadioglu only for the referee Chris Kavanagh to blow his whistle.

Frank exploded in anger on the touchline towards the man in the middle, flinging his arm around and shouting. Kavanagh just stared at him, watching as fourth official Tom Nield spoke to him to see how he reacted.

Fortunately for the Dane, his touchline temperament lies somewhere between Conte and Postecoglou, so he had already calmed down by that point and avoided any punishment from the official.

At the end of the day, his Tottenham side had 45 touches in the Brighton box compared to the hosts having 17 in theirs, with 135 successful final third passes to the Seagulls' 57.

The hard-earned point left Frank purring over what it meant and how it tied in with what he spoke to his players about before the match.

"I'm very happy with that [character]. I spoke about mentality before the game to the players. That to go down here against a good Brighton side, away from home, on the back end of our first Champions League game, it's all about mentality," the Dane told football.london.

"Of course, we need structure and tactics and game plan and all that - we like to praise ourselves as coaches! But in the end of the day, it's mentality to stay in there when it's tough.

"And I love the way we started the game. Away from home, just boom, on top of it. I don't think Brighton were over the halfway line in the early minutes. Then they scored a goal where praise to Brighton, we can do better, and it's like [this close to being] offside. We keep going, keep on it.

"And then great goal, but Vic can do better. Very happy with him, spoke to him, so I think he had a great season for us and it happens. But we keep going, we stay in the game, stick to the game plan, and I thought we looked physically strong."

He added: "I thought the players looked strong and were intense throughout the game, even though we had a midweek game, which I'm very happy with the physical preparation during pre-season and everything the team have done, with big help from the performance staff at Tottenham.

"So the mentality, the physical aspect, I thought was key, and coming here, where last year we came here and were 2-0 up, lost 3-2. Now we’re 2-0 down and come back 2-2. I think it's good.

"If there should have been a winner in my eyes, and maybe I'm slightly biased, I think it should have been us. I think the amount of crosses, the amount of touches in the opponent's box, the amount of near chances, was more than enough to win the game."

Frank's Tottenham are still a work in progress and this match brought plenty of positives and also things to work on.

There were first starts of the season for Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert and the two left-siders put in differing displays.

Udogie was switched on from the opening whistle, driven to reclaim his left-back spot from Djed Spence on a regular basis.

The 22-year-old Italian naturally brings balance to Spurs' play with his left foot and as powerful as he was going forward, he was equally important at the other end of the pitch in preventing a series of Brighton counter attacks.

It was Odobert who lost the ball with Udogie having overlapped him into the Brighton box, which led to the counter attack for the opening goal. With Van de Ven coming out to try to stop Rutter's pass and failing, it left Odobert to run back without the required pace and strength to catch Minteh.

That pretty much summed up Odobert's return to the starting line-up - good intentions but no real strength to act on them. His ability on the ball worried Brighton at times but never to the point that he actually posed them any real threat.

Frank was happy enough with his contribution though across his 72 minutes and to be fair to the young Frenchman, Brennan Johnson offered nothing more when he replaced him, touching the ball just eight times in his 20 minutes or so.

"Happy with [his performance], I thought he looked lively," said the Spurs boss of Odobert. "Clearly, it looked like they were a little bit afraid of him. So he got time to turn and run forward. I think he produced some crosses, some good opportunities. He was also involved in a goal, worked hard. So a good first start."

The Dane utterly raved about Udogie though when asked about the Italian's performance by football.london.

"Exceptional. Destiny was exceptional. He was almost unstoppable going forward," he said. "I think also it was a bit unfortunate it was Wilson who had to track him on the situation, because it was a little bit of a high-pressure situation, the Brighton goal and he just completely took him out going forward. Very good [from Udogie], just top.

"I've got three extremely good full-backs. I think Djed Spence's been fantastic for us. So when another player is doing so well, there's no reason to throw Destiny in too early. I'm pretty sure we'll need all three throughout the season. That is crucial.

"We are playing, hopefully, around 60 games this season. That's a lot. I think Liverpool changed both their full-backs from midweek to Saturday. It's a big thing. We want full-backs to come bombing up and down. So we need everyone, but I'm very happy with Destiny."

On the right-hand side, Kudus was involved in both goals. Such are the way assists are counted, he will get one for a shot that Richarlison controlled and scored from but not one for the dangerous cross that Van Hecke inadvertently touched home.

Kudus is a huge threat for Tottenham and if Frank and his staff can improve his decision-making in certain moments then the 25-year-old has the potential to be their star man this season.

He is impossible to knock off the ball. Even when the winger seems like he's falling, he's continuing to dribble and he left Brighton full-back Kadioglu dizzy with his twists and turns in the second half in particular at the Amex Stadium.

The key for Kudus is just picking the right moments to cross the ball, take a shot or try to beat another man for he leans towards the latter just too often.

For instance, there was a great opportunity in the game's final moments when he could have put in an early low cross into the six-yard box as Richarlison and Johnson were sprinting into it but instead the Ghana international cut inside, beat another and hit a shot from outside the box that was deflected over the crossbar.

Yet he did make an impact again on the scoreline and an important one. Kudus has three assists from his first five Premier League games for Tottenham and he helped the north London side grab a point against the club that came close to signing him from Ajax back in 2023 before he joined West Ham.

Frank named three things about Kudus that he believes have helped the attacker settle so quickly in N17.

"One, his work ethic has been really good. It's big for me, how hard he works in the counter-press, high pressure, defensive side of it," he said. "But his hold-up play, when it goes into him, it just sticks. You can't get it off him! So he just keeps it, he doesn't lose a 50-50 ball.

"And then the third thing is his one-on-one ability is crazy. He's so strong, he's so explosive. He just dominated the right-hand side."

That Xavi and Kudus linked up for the 82nd minute equaliser hopefully points towards a key relationship going forward rather than wasting the Dutchman on the other side of the pitch.

Spurs needed the 22-year-old's creativity through the middle and when he entered the fray they suddenly looked like a completely different team to the one in midweek against Villarreal.

They looked like a real attacking threat, with Xavi able to drift past opponents and create space for others but also able to thread the through balls that have been missing in James Maddison's absence.

Tottenham's midfield before Xavi's arrival on Saturday was all about the industry, as would be expected with both Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur in the engine room and Lucas Bergvall trying to be more of a 10 than the eight he will excel as.

It was noticeable that the Swede improved vastly in the second half after an over-eager opening 45 minutes which included a poor clearance Ayari seized upon to score, albeit with the help of that iffy goalkeeping from Vicario.

With Xavi's arrival so Palhinha sat at the base of the midfield with the younger Dutchman and Swede playing as two 8/10 hybrids and it was that which unlocked Bergvall.

One brilliant piece of play, with two crunching tackles in the midfield set Tottenham away and had Bergvall left a Xavi pass to Richarlison rather than trying to take it into his own stride, the equaliser would have come earlier.

Frank told football.london on Friday that his reasoning behind using Xavi on the left is because in an attack with plenty of new partnerships still looking to gel, the midfield was the one area where people knew each other's game, such as Bergvall, Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr and that brought stability at this early stage of his tenure.

This performance from Xavi hopefully is the end of that need. In certain tough away games, playing the 22-year-old of the left will make sense, but like Maddison, he can impact those matches Spurs want to dominate far more centrally and open up stubborn defences.

"I'm very, very pleased with [his impact]," Frank told football.london after Saturday's game. "I think Xavi came in and did exactly what we thought he could do in that 10 position. Of course he had a good pre-season and he played two games in Germany and all that, but he's still coming into a team.

"And I think on any other day, he'd score a goal. He got a great finish on the first one, great save from Verbruggen. And the other one, he mistimes. And I think maybe he could have got an assist to Richy, where Lucas takes the ball, he doesn't see him."

On his best position, he added: "I think he can play both. I think he can easily play the left winger, that can go more inside. I also think he'd have the right position too. Sometimes the playmakers, they drift to the side because there's no space in the middle. So I think he can do that. But 10, obviously he can play that as well."

Xavi's performance did make you wonder what result Spurs might have managed had he come on for the start of the second half or even begun the game in that central role.

There was also a bright little cameo from Archie Gray. There wasn't much to it as he only came on in the 89th minute but it contained plenty of running and one delightful no-look pass - arguably the pass of the match - to Kudus which sent him away for that late deflected shot over.

Gray has the technical ability to make passes like that and he has as much chance of developing into an eight as a six.

Ahead of the game, Frank had raved to football.london about the 19-year-old's reaction to being left out of the squad against West Ham.

"I see him more as a midfielder, as an eight or a centre-back, I think he can play both, and sometimes you need that little run of games like Lucas gets now and you take the next steps," said the head coach.

"I must admit Archie really impressed me. He played a very good pre-season friendly against Newcastle and he really grew into the game against Burnley, he was really good in the second half and I like his mentality.

"He was not in the squad for West Ham and the day after he trained fantastically. Of course I tried to speak to him and encourage him to train fantastically. Yesterday [in training], fantastic, so that is what you do.

"He does the bit I like from a midfielder where he can twist and turn to go forward, he is very mobile, he is reliable, so I really like Archie. Unfortunately you can only play 11. Can we change the rules? Get a few more on the pitch, it would help a little bit."

Gray and a number of others will get their chance on Wednesday night against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

Frank has already ruled out Dominic Solanke with the striker finally back on the grass individually this week, while summer signing Kota Takai is expected to join in training with the team on Monday but that might come too early for any game time against the League One visitors two days later.

Randal Kolo Muani and Ben Davies both missed the draw at the Amex Stadium with different issues.

"Hopefully [Kolo Muani will miss just one game], it was a dead leg," Frank told football.london. "He's actually been struggling with it for four or five days. It's just not settling as we hoped for. So hopefully Wednesday."

The PSG man had missed only one single game through injury in his senior career before arriving at Tottenham, according to the stats on Transfermarkt. Hopefully it's another two-and-a-half years until his next one rather than the beginning of the Tottenham curse.

Davies had a slight twist to his knee in training and should be available for the midweek cup game.

Others like the Welshman, Kolo Muani and Gray in need of minutes are Antonin Kinsky, Kevin Danso, Mathys Tel, Johnson and perhaps even Dane Scarlett. All eyes in the academy will be on whether either of their highly-rated 16-year-olds Jun'ai Byfield or Luca Williams-Barnett get included in the squad.

Centre-back Byfield was in the UEFA Super Cup and most recent Champions League matchday squads. Attacker Williams-Barnett has had a great week with a match-turning involvement in the UEFA Youth League win against Villarreal before a first half hat-trick for the U21s at Leicester on Friday night.

If he does not get called up to what will be a busy squad on Wednesday then his time will come this season at some point. The teenager has got that little bit of magic in his feet. He just needs to keep working hard and show all the attributes on and off the pitch that Frank looks for.

The Tottenham ship is sailing in the right direction at the moment even with change aplenty on deck and at the helm. The Lilywhites currently sit second in the fledgling table with just one defeat to their name and having won their opening Champions League encounter.

This latest game was one that showed a lot of what Frank wants to see moving forward and he called it Spurs' most complete performance of the season so far, despite those first half setbacks.

"I know we conceded two goals, and it's never that black and white. The first one where we will say I should take it. The second one is, OK, we conceded a goal, that can happen. It's just the Premier League, it's good. But besides that, I thought we defended well," he said.

"Overall, I think the high pressure was very aggressive, and we were winning the ball back all the time, which we like to do. I think in phase one, we got out every time, more or less. We controlled it up there.

"We created so many good opportunities, and had to counter-press and then defending crosses. So there was a lot of the bits we like to do, because of that, and then on top of that, the mentality to come back from 2-0 down is so important."

Frank is leaving a good impression throughout the club, both behind the scenes with staff as well as with the players in his dressing room. He knows he is building something new on top of existing foundations and he is respectful of the bonds that were born before while trying to add value to them.

The battling point on Saturday might only be a small thing in the table but it represented something more in that the Spurs players all fought together, new players and old, to deliver what he asked of them.

That trophy win will help Frank even if he was not involved, because it forged this group together and now he can build upon that.

The Dane has admitted as much and it feels like he is working with Tottenham 2.0. The club has had the taste of success and now everyone involved wants more. Frank has all the tools to help them get it.

Thomas Frank had plenty to discuss after his Tottenham side fought back to draw 2-2 at Brighton on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League.

Spurs went behind just eight minutes into the match at the Amex Stadium as the Seagulls scored from their first attack. Georginio Rutter curled a pass into Yankuba Minteh's run and the Gambian attacker outpaced the stunned Tottenham defence, rounded Guglielmo Vicario and poked the ball home.

Brighton doubled their advantage on 31 minutes with a rocket shot from Yasin Ayari that Vicario should have done better with.

Richarlison grabbed a key goal back before the break for Spurs when Mohammed Kudus' shot struck the Brazilian in the box and he hooked the loose ball home.

The visitors were the better side in the second half and created a number of chances, with substitute Xavi Simons playing a key role. The leveller eventually came on 82 minutes when the Dutchman picked out Kudus on the right flank and the Ghana international's cross hit Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke on the leg and deflected into the net.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Frank after the draw. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at the Amex Stadium.

You must be delighted with the character of the team to come back?

Yeah, very happy with that. Spoke about mentality before the game to the players. That to go down here against a good Brighton side, away from home, on the back end of our first Champions League game, it's all about mentality. Of course, we need structure and tactics and game plan and all that - we like to praise ourselves as coaches.

But in the end of the day, it's mentality to stay in there when it's tough. And I love the way we started the game. Away from home, just boom, on top of it. I don't think Brighton were over the halfway line in the first, whatever, I can’t remember when they scored - 10, 12 minutes or whatever it was. Then they scored a goal where praise to Brighton, we can do better, and it's like [this close to being] offside. We keep going, keep on it.

And then great goal, but Vic can do better. Very happy with him, spoke to him, so I think he had a great season for us and it happens. But we keep going, we stay in the game, stick to the gameplan, and I thought we looked physically strong. I thought the players looked strong and were intense throughout the game, even though we had a midweek game, which I'm very happy with the physical preparation during pre-season and everything the team have done, with big help from the performance staff at Tottenham.

So the mentality, the physical aspect, I thought was key. And coming here, where last year we came here and were 2-0 up, lost 3-2. Now we’re 2-0 down and come back 2-2. I think it's good. And if there should have been a winner in my eyes, and maybe slightly biased, I think it should have been us. I think the amount of crosses, the amount of touches in the opponent's box, the amount of nearby and also chances, was more than enough to win the game.

What did you make of Destiny Udogie’s return to the starting lineup?

Exceptional. He was exceptional today. He was unstoppable, almost, going forward. And I think also it was a bit unfortunate, it was Wilson who had to track him on the situation, because it was a little bit of a high-pressure situation, the Brighton wonder goal. But he just completely took him out going forward. Very good, just top.

Are you pleased with Xavi's impact from the bench?

Yeah, I'm very, very pleased with that. I think Xavi came in and did exactly what we thought he could do in that 10 position. Of course he had a good pre-season and he played two games in Germany and all that, but he's still coming into a team and all that. And I think on any other day, he'd score a goal. He got a great finish on the first one, great save from Verbruggen. And the other one, he mistimes. And I think maybe he could have got an assist to Richy, where Lucas takes the ball, he doesn't see him.

Is it a more natural position for him?

I think he can play both. I think he can easily play the left winger, that can go more inside. I also think he'd have the right position too. Sometimes the playmakers, they drift to the side because there's no space in the middle. So I think he can do that. But 10, obviously he can play that as well.

Are you surprised how quickly you’ve got resilience in the team?

I'm very, very pleased with it. I think there was also a situation the first half, the way we sprinted back on our recovery runs. That's goosebumps, that's bread and butter. But you want to be a resilient team because we play against good teams and it will be difficult sometimes. But it's a good group of players. They want to perform. They are disappointed after the game. Even when we come back, they wanted to win, of course.

I also think the overall performance played in - I think maybe this was our most complete performance so far in the season. I know we made, you can say we conceded two goals, but I think actually there were so many positives overall in the game. Also the high pressure, the man-to-man, very aggressive. But as you say, that resilience in the group, that mentality, is good.

With Mohammed Kudus, it was another good performance, what have you been most impressed with when it comes to his adaptation to the team?

I think two things. One, his work ethic has been really good. It's big for me, how hard he works in the counter-press, high pressure, defensive side of it.

But his hold-up play, when it goes into him, it just sticks. You can't get it off him. So he just keeps it, he doesn't lose a 50-50 ball. And then the third thing is his one-on-one ability is crazy. He's so strong, he's so explosive. He just dominated the right-hand side.

Can I ask about the second goal? Is Vic kicking himself on that one, or is it not as simple as it looks?

I think it's never as simple as it looks. I think that's a big thing. I think it's a great strike, but he will be kicking himself. He wants to save that one.

At Brentford, part of your success was through coaching improvement out of individual players. Do you look at a lot of your team and think you can get 10, 20, 30 per cent improvement out of them?

Hopefully. We try to put a good structure in place. Offensively and defensively, clear principles. Keep reinforcing the right messages.

For example, today we put so many crosses in. That's a big part of what we want to do. There could be a little bit more quality, we could also have a little bit more runs. And then we'll keep coaching them, running in the right gaps. I think if Richy had run in the right gaps, he'd have scored maybe two goals more today, for example. I believe any player can keep developing. That's a big part of what I believe in, and my coaching staff believe in as well.

Can I just ask you to expand a little bit more on why you think it's been the most complete performance of the season so far?

I know we conceded two goals, and it's never that black and white. So one where we will say I should take it. The second one is, OK, we conceded a goal, that can happen. It's just Premier League, it's good. But besides that, I thought we defended well.

Overall, I think the high pressure was very aggressive, and we were winning the ball back more or less all the time, which we like to do. I think in phase one, we got out every time, more or less. We controlled it up there.

We created so many good opportunities, and had to counter-press and rest defending crosses. So there was a lot of the bits we like to do, because of that. And then on top of that, the mentality to come back from 2-0 down is so important.

What can you achieve when you've got Randall Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke back, and you've got those extra attacking options off the bench?

That's a good question, I don't know. Right now, I think it's about that consistency. We played five Premier League games, I think we had four good performances, and one bad. So can we stick with... I don't want that bad, I think it was a bad performance. So can we just get all bad performances out and consistently produce good performances? Then on a day where, whatever, there's a mistake and you need to come back, you still get a point. Or you maybe turn it around and win 2-1 or win 3-2.

What was your perspective on Wilson Odobert's first start of the season, and how he got on?

Happy with it, I must admit. I thought he looked lively. Clearly, it looked like they were a little bit afraid of him. So he got time to turn and run forward. I think he produced some crosses, some good opportunities. He was also involved in a goal, worked hard. So a good first start.

Just on Kolo Muani, do you expect him just to miss the one game?

Hopefully, it was a dead leg. He's actually been struggling with it for four or five days. It's just not settling as we hoped for. So hopefully Wednesday.

Just on Udogie, have you been waiting for a little while for him to get up to speed?

Yeah, but I must admit, I've got three extremely good full-backs. I think Djed's been fantastic for us. So when another player is doing so well, then there's no reason to throw Destiny in too early. And I'm pretty sure we need all three throughout the season. That is crucial.

We are playing, hopefully, around 60 games this season. That's a lot. I think Liverpool changed both their full-backs from midweek to today. So it's a big thing. We want fullbacks to come bombarding up and down. So we need everyone. But I'm very happy with Destiny.

Do you enjoy a game like that? Because we talk a lot about structure and set pieces and everything, that felt like a bit of a throwback, end-to-end, rain, lots of chances, as a manager, do you like that or do you want it to calm down a bit?

I think you always want to control if you can. But I liked how aggressive we were and there were some very good opportunities going forward. And I liked that we looked very dangerous. That I liked a lot I must admit.