Football London

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has endured another brutal moment with Arsenal ahead of the Premier League match against Bournemouth

Thomas Frank has been captured drinking from an Arsenal cup before Tottenham's Premier League clash against Arsenal. The Spurs boss was taking in his surroundings at Vitality Stadium before kick-off with a photo emerging that showed he was taking sips from a cup that had the Gunners' club crest on it.

The 52-year-old, who was appointed Spurs head coach in the summer, has faced a challenging first six months in the job with supporters not overly keen on his tactics.

He also made several interesting team selection decisions and made bizarre comments in his press conferences which have not gone down well at all.

That started almost immediately into his Spurs tenure when he went out of his way to heap praise on Spurs' biggest rivals before facing them in pre-season.

He said: "I think it is a great challenge, besides being our biggest rivals and the first north London derby outside the UK. It is also right now one of the best teams, I must say unfortunately, in the world. We also need to be honest.

“In that way it is going to be a big test, but it is more than a test as against Arsenal it is not only a friendly. Of course it is a game we will do everything we can to win.”

Tottenham won that match but things have regressed significantly since then and his latest blunder on Wednesday evening is unlikely to go down well at all with supporters especially as results on the pitch continue to be disappointing.

The Lilywhites have won just two Premier League games since early November with damaging defeats to Chelsea and Newcastle United arriving prior to that.

Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool had also beaten Spurs before 2025 concluded. Tottenham are actually on a three-game unbeaten streak following draws with Brentford and Sunderland after beating Crystal Palace.

That run of games looked set to be ending on the south coast however, with the Cherries coming from behind to lead after Mathys Tel's early opener. Evanilson and Eli Junior Kroupi were both on target before half-time with Lucas Bergvall going off injured after the break.

Spurs looked set for a chance to equalise when Micky van de Ven won a penalty but after a VAR review, that decision was overturned. Joao Palhinha later did level the contest with a superb overhead kick.

Spurs' woes were also present last weekend as Mohamed Kudus was withdrawn in the first half of the stalemate at home to Sunderland.

Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie are close to returning from injury, but did not feature in the squad to face Bournemouth. James Maddison meanwhile, is a long-term absentee.

Here's the Tottenham team that Thomas Frank has selected to face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Wednesday evening

Thomas Frank has made five changes to his Tottenham side to face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Bournemouth have not won since October but did beat Thomas Frank's men earlier in the campaign. Spurs are unbeaten while struggling to impress in their past three matches as they took all three points at Crystal Palace before disappointing stalemates against Brentford and Sunderland. The hosts are expected to have Antoine Semenyo in their team for the final time before his move to Manchester City.

With three games in six days, Frank has brought in fresh legs and while Mohammed Kudus misses out through injury, the Spurs head coach has Xavi Simons back from his three-game suspension and he appears to be playing on the left with Lucas Bergvall through the middle.

Archie Gray gets a rest with Joao Palhinha coming into the starting line-up, as does Djed Spence. Mathys Tel starts again with Wilson Odobert and Richarlison dropping to the bench for a rest as the matches come thick and fast.

Here's the team Frank has selected to face the Cherries.

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed they will pay tribute to Martin Chivers before the clash against Bournemouth.

Chivers' death, at the age of 80 years old, was confirmed today by the club. He is widely regarded as one of the finest ever players to pull on the Lilywhites' shirt in the north Londoners' history.

Born in Southampton, Chivers moved to White Hart Lane in January 1968 when he was signed by then Spurs manager Bill Nicholson. His £125,000 transfer fee was a club record at the time, but his performances would go on to pay back every penny and then some.

Over the course of 415 appearances, he netted 202 times - only Harry Kane, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Smith and Son Heung-Min scored more. In a statement confirming his passing,

Tottenham wrote: "It is with immense sadness that we announce the passing of our legendary former striker, Martin Chivers. We extend our deepest sympathies to Martin’s family, friends and former team-mates at this incredibly sad time.

"Our players will wear black armbands during this evening’s fixture against AFC Bournemouth. Rest in peace, Martin. One of the all-time greats."

Ex-Spurs star Steve Archibald also said: "Watched the great Martin Chivers before I became a pro. [He] was an amazing watch.

"He was like [a] Rolls Royce, so smooth in his movement, excellent in the air and a great finisher, but on top of all of that he was a really nice guy. Most sincere condolences to all of Martin’s family."

Tottenham stadium announcer Paul Coyte also offered his own tribute to Chivers. He wrote: "I’m absolutely devastated that my great friend and footballing hero Martin Chivers has passed away. He was a giant of a man, the best striker in the world in his day and I will miss him terribly.”

Chivers' finest period as a Tottenham player came when the club sold the iconic Greaves to West Ham United in 1970. Before his arrival, Greaves had formed an incredible partnership with Alan Gilzean.

When the club had to lean on Chivers' skills, the Englishman did not let them down, providing the goals and match-winning contributions Greaves made. The 1970-71 campaign saw him scores 34 goals in 58 games, including a brace in the League Cup final triumph against Aston Villa.

He also hit 21 First Division goals in a campaign which saw the club finish in second position. In the 1971-72 campaign, he then scored 42 times in 62 first team appearances and even scored eight goals in 11 UEFA Cup matches.

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Tottenham are looking to extend their recent unbeaten run as they travel to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Spurs beat Crystal Palace before drawing with both Brentford and Sunderland and while the latter two stalemates brought frustration from the Tottenham fans, Thomas Frank's men will make their way to the south coast to face Andoni Iraola's Cherries with the best away record in the Premier League.

It looks likely to be Antoine Semenyo's final game for Bournemouth ahead of his move to Manchester City and the visitors will have to stop him signing off with a flourish. Spurs are without Mohammed Kudus after his injury against Sunderland and Frank's attacking options are slim after the decision to sell Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace in a £35million deal.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is at the match in Bournemouth to cover the game with all of the news before and after the 7.30pm kick-off. Scroll down for his latest updates from the clash at the Vitality Stadium.

Here's the Tottenham team that we reckon Thomas Frank will choose to face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Wednesday evening

Tottenham will be hoping to return to winning ways as they travel to Bournemouth on Wednesday in the Premier League.

Spurs are unbeaten in their past three matches as they took all three points at Crystal Palace before disappointing stalemates against Brentford and Sunderland. The first of the two draws was a drab derby while the second featured a more positive first half from Thomas Frank's side before their threw away two points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Now 13th-placed Tottenham are hosted by Bournemouth, who appear likely to have Antoine Semenyo in their team for the final time before his expected move to Manchester City.

With three games in six days, Frank needs fresh legs and while Mohammed Kudus will miss out, the Spurs head coach will have Xavi Simons back from his three-game suspension to provide some playmaker ability in the number 10 role.

The Dane could choose to add completely fresh legs into his central midfield with Archie Gray and Rodrigo Bentancur having played a lot of football. He may decide to give either or both of Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall a start in the engine room.

Djed Spence will return to the team and Frank must decide whether to play Pedro Porro again or if Ben Davies is fit enough to play twice within such a short space of time after so long out with Spence on the right. Destiny Udogie is also closing in on a return from injury with Frank saying he was back training with the team but it might be a risk to throw him straight back into the starting line-up.

With options limited in the attacking slots, one player will be left out of those fit, or two if the Dane does not go with Bergvall as the 10 and Xavi out on the left. That could be Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert, Randal Kolo Muani, or Richarlison as there also has to be a point when the Brazilian gets a rest after his injury problems of previous seasons.

Here's the team we reckon Frank might go for.

The Tottenham Hotspur head coach believes experiences that took place down the road at the north London club's rivals have helped him this season

Thomas Frank believes Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham's experiences with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal have benefited him in gaining patience from a club that has rarely shown much.

Premier League managers are dropping like flies right now, with Ruben Amorim and Enzo Maresca leaving Manchester United and Chelsea within days of each other, and some sections of the Spurs fanbase have called for their 13th-placed club to follow suit after an uninspiring start to life under Frank with two wins from their past 11 league games.

However, having been a club that has mostly gone through managers like hot dinners in the past under former chairman Daniel Levy, there is a new man at the top in Venkatesham. He was among the powerful figures at Arsenal who showed patience in Arteta through some slow early years and trusted the Spaniard needed the time to build something.

Six years on and the Gunners are six points clear at the top of the table and Frank believes he is benefiting from Venkatesham's experience over those construction seasons down the road with the Gunners.

"Definitely [that has informed the way he acts]. No doubt about that. Plus he also knows what good looks like and how unfortunately it can take time to get up to where good should look like," said the 52-year-old. "That’s definitely beneficial because he understands the journey we’re on."

Frank was full of praise for the man tasked with helming Tottenham's post-Levy era and pointed to the CEO's gift of the gab as being a crucial part of his role.

"Vinai is one of the best communicators I ever met, as a CEO, leader whatever, he is absolutely excellent in that," said the Dane. "I think I’m ok but he is way superior which I think is crucial internally and externally. He’s calm and takes sensible decisions, two rare abilities in football, but also two absolutely crucial abilities if you want to have success long term.

"Vinai is crucial for Tottenham to have success in many ways. We have known each other for six months so we are getting closer and closer and know each other better and better. I would say I’m calm but a tiny bit more emotional at times so we learn about each other as well.

"Besides being smart and taking sensible decisions, Vinai also has that huge experience of ten years at Arsenal with how they built."

Frank was asked about the culture in the Premier League where the manager alone must always face the media rather than sporting directors, which is not how it works on the continent.

"I thought the other day that it’s definitely a thing here in England, it’s more the manager or the head coach who face the media all the time," he said. "It must be tricky if you don’t feel the alignment and the trust behind you but I feel that, so no problem."

Frank only experienced the final months of Levy's 24 years at the helm so the transition has not been as strange for him as it has for some within Spurs.

"My experience is very limited. As I understood, he was the one that was signing off and negotiating the final bit [with transfers]. He will not do that now, that will be more down to Johan [Lange] and Fabio [Paratici] doing that job," said the head coach.

"We have a good recruitment side with the numbers behind it, looking at the players and then taking the right decision. Then it’s down to Johan and Fabio to do the job with the agents and get the deals done. That's the biggest difference."

Despite their troubles this season, Frank believes Spurs remain an attractive destination for transfer targets in the January transfer window. The north London outfit are believed to be on the lookout for a new left winger, left-back and potentially another central midfielder and centre-back depending on departures.

"We are very attractive in many ways. Spurs is a fantastic club with a huge potential," he said. "I think some of the boxes you need to tick are the stadium, the training ground and the potential.

“Of course if we compete against the three teams that are clearly ahead of us - City, Arsenal and Liverpool, unfortunately - then those three clubs are probably more attractive right now. That’s not to say we can’t attract some of the players that also want to go to those clubs. It depends a little bit if there is a spot available for the player to play in those clubs and here."

One current Spurs player Frank is waiting to call upon for the first time is Dejan Kulusevski. The Swede has been a key player for Tottenham over the year but after requiring patella surgery towards the end of last season, the attacker is yet to return to action despite his head coach saying he hoped the 25-year-old would be back for the end of 2025.

"He is a key player and I would love to have him back soon. Unfortunately, it was a tricky injury he got so it just takes time," said Frank. "They are working very hard and he is working very hard to come back on the pitch."

The Spurs boss has other attackers to work with right now and some fans have called for Randal Kolo Muani, on loan from PSG, to start up front in place of Richarlison while Frank awaits the return of Dominic Solanke from his ankle injury. However, Frank admitted that with Richarlison having bagged eight goals and three assists this season and Kolo Muani just the two goals in the Champions League match against his French employers, it's a tough sell.

"I think the challenge is, Richy has worked very hard for us during the games, as a pressing player leading the line, competing. He's our top scorer. So he's the guy who has that confidence right now," said Frank. "Kolo has scored zero goals [in the Premier League] unfortunately, and zero assists. There's also a little bit of that.

"I like that Kolo can easily play as either of the two wingers. He's done that in the past, and also like a second striker coming in and be closer to Richy. There's a lot of good about him I like with his abilities. The way he drives the ball, the way he's got that little extra pace to go past players and running behind.

"Maybe he just lacks that little extra confidence of where the things just come off. He had three runs with the ball [against Sunderland] where it's like the final touch then you are in. Richy, if he got the ball through, it's hopefully a tap in 10 minutes into the second half, then suddenly you just have that extra bit.

"So we lacked that a little bit from our players. That little boost. Until you get that, the only thing you can do is keep trying, keep doing the right things."

Frank also drew comparisons between another Spurs attacker Mathys Tel and previous forwards he has converted into new roles at Brentford.

"Mathys is a quite versatile player. He can play on the left, he can play 10, he plays striker. Probably his best [role] is something between the three roles, and he's young, so I think he's not the first player to have the question 'where will he actually end up?'," said the Dane.

"In the past, I would work with Ollie Watkins. He came as a winger, and I converted him to be a striker, and he's quite a successful striker. Yoane Wissa came as a winger to us, and in the end, he ended as a striker. Is Mathys maybe the same type, to start as a winger and end as a striker? I don't know. No matter what, I'm pretty sure he can perform in both positions."

We asked our Tottenham reporters Alasdair Gold and Ryan Taylor to name the starting line-up they believe Thomas Frank could select against Bournemouth

Tottenham are unbeaten in three matches but want to return to winning ways as they make the trip to Bournemouth on Wednesday night in the Premier League.

Spurs won at Crystal Palace before draws against Brentford and Sunderland that were disappointing in different ways, the former for being simply dull and lacking in creativity and the latter for Thomas Frank's men throwing away the win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Now they travel to a Bournemouth side who might have Antoine Semenyo in their team for the final time before his expected move to Manchester City.

In a tight Premier League table, a couple of wins could lift Spurs out of the gloom and back towards the higher reaches of the table with fifth spot only four points away despite their 13th-place position.

We asked our Tottenham reporters Alasdair Gold and Ryan Taylor to name the starting line-up they reckon Frank might go for.

Alasdair Gold - Tottenham correspondent

With three games in six days, Frank needs fresh legs and while Mohammed Kudus is expected to miss out, he will have Xavi Simons back from his three-game suspension to provide some playmaker ability in the number 10 role.

The Spurs boss could also choose to completely refresh his central midfield options with Archie Gray and Rodrigo Bentancur having played a lot of football. He may decide to give Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall a start in the centre of the pitch to bring fresh legs to the visitors' play.

Djed Spence will return to the team and Frank must decide whether to play Pedro Porro again or whether Ben Davies is fit enough to play twice within such a short space of time with Spence on the right. Destiny Udogie is also closing in on a return from injury.

With options limited in the attacking slots, one player will be left out, if the Dane does not go with Bergvall as the 10 and Xavi out on the left. That could be Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert or Randal Kolo Muani, while there also has to be a point when Richarlison gets a rest.

Gold's XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Bergvall; Kolo Muani, Xavi, Odobert; Richarlison.

Ryan Taylor - Football reporter

It’s a tough one to call with Mohammed Kudus out. I think it’s safe to say Djed Spence will return at left-back with Cuti Romero, Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porto making up the back four.

Archie Gray should keep his place in midfield with Joao Palhinha coming back in for Rodrigo Bentancur.

The attacking positions is where it gets slightly tricky but I’m going for Xavi Simons to return as the No.10 for Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel keeps his place on the left with Randal Kolo Muani starting from the right.

Richarlison keeps his place as the No.9. It’s perhaps a little unorthodox with Kolo Muani playing out of position but it worked fairly well against Sunderland prior to conceding the goal.

If I had it my way, I’d probably consider switching to a back-three but Spurs fans want to see attacking football and this is a very attacking line up.

Here's every single word the Tottenham Hotspur head coach said on Monday ahead of the Premier League match against Bournemouth

Thomas Frank faced the questions at his press conference on Monday afternoon ahead of Tottenham's game at Bournemouth ln the Premier League.

Spurs began their 2026 home campaign at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with just a point against Sunderland after Ben Davies' first half goal was cancelled out with 10 minutes remaining by Brian Brobbey's powerful strike. Sunday's draw left Frank's men in 13th place in the table ahead of their trip to the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday night.

Mohammed Kudus suffered an injury early in the game and Frank gave the latest news on the Ghanaian as well as an update on Dominic Solanke. Frank was also asked for his opinion on the sacking of Ruben Amorim at Manchester United and what the future holds for Ben Davies and Mathys Tel.

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

What is the latest on Mohammed Kudus' injury?

He's going for a scan here, one o'clock, to clarify the issue. So, unfortunately, I don't have, how can I say, a big update on it.

Is he ruled out against Bournemouth?

Yeah, most likely ruled out for Bournemouth.

But Destiny Udogie is due back, right?

Yeah, we haven't talked about that before, so he's training, and he's looking better, so that's positive.

Is there a likelihood of Solanke being involved against Bournemouth?

Nope, we will not, but positive going forward.

You tried to sign Brennan Johnson at Brentford, what changed?

Yeah, you know, two different situations, two different clubs. Brennan has made himself a club legend in some ways, scoring the winning goal in Bilbao, winning the fantastic Europa League trophy.

Done well, was the top scorer last year, I think, in all competitions, doing well. Then Mo Kudus came in, playing on the right wing, which is also Brennan's best position, not that he can't play to the left, best position.

And then for the long-term plans, there was an opportunity to sell Brennan now, and give him an opportunity to try something else, so that was the right decision.

Do you feel you got good value for Johnson?

That is [a question] for someone who is very good at negotiating prices and buying and selling players, much better than me, so I think that's a question for them, if I'm fair. I think that's fair.

With what's happened to Ruben Amorim, did you have a lucky escape after the failed United interview?

I'll probably repeat my answer from the last press conference [about Maresca]. We don't know what's happened behind the scenes, that's up to you guys, or journalists following Man United closely.

It can be something with the head coach, something with the ownership, leadership, it can be misalignment, whatever. Most likely, the most common reason that a head coach is either stopping or getting sacked. I think it's just another example from my point of view, that it's very difficult to achieve sustainable success if you change key personnel in clubs, like the head coach, like the sports directors.

I think if you think you have the right ones and you're aligned, you need to do it over a long time. So now it's two clubs with one and a half years. Again, I'm not judging it, I'm just saying that's actually the fact.

In that sense, there could be many reasons for it, I just don't know. In this fantastic, beautiful football world, you win one day and play well, you're in heaven, you lose, and you don't play that well, and you're in hell.

The best clubs they are aligned, ownership, leadership, and head coach, over time, and you keep the noise out, and you look at the progress behind it.

It goes up and down, and hopefully over time, more and more up. Then you achieve something big together. The three biggest, latest examples of that, of course, are Liverpool, City, and Arsenal.

You mentioned there that you worked quite happily as a head coach here and at Brentford. Amorim seemed to think he was a manager, even though his title was head coach. Is that only a subtle difference or is there a big difference?

I don't know, I think these days it's more or less that in all clubs there's a sports director or a technical director or whatever we call it. There's definitely one above you, no matter if you're a manager or a head coach. If you're a manager I guess it's the chairman of the board or what is it? Sometimes the CEO, I think there's different constructions in clubs. Most likely, no matter if you're the head coach or the manager, it's not like you just got the key for the money box or whatever you call it.

You just open it and pull out millions and just buy players and have no responsibilities. So for me, no matter what kind of title you have, it always needs to be collaborative between the head coach, the sports director, ownership, leadership, whatever. So you're completely aligned in what you do.

Then sometimes there'll be disagreements. Hey, we all push, we're all competitive, but that needs to be completely aligned. And again, that's where the biggest success you see is coming.

Thirteenth in the table doesn't sound so good, but then if you're saying four points off the top five, that sounds a bit better. It's a crazy league, isn't it?

It's a very crazy league, very even league. I said that I think the competition between teams is very big. The difference between teams is very small. It's small margins. So we need to look optimistically and positive on the future, but also understanding where we are and keep working very hard to improve and make sure we are ready against a very good Bournemouth team. I know they haven't won as much lately, but they are a team that is very competitive with Iraola. Watch the game against Arsenal. That was a very tricky game that Bournemouth easily could have at least get something out of.

With Cristian Romero, he's got that FA charge, did the club appeal that?

Yeah, we have appealed that, yeah. (Technically Spurs have responded to the charge and are awaiting the outcome. Any appeal would happen after the outcome).

When do you expect to find out?

That, I honestly don't know. I know he's available for Bournemouth. That's the game ahead for me.

Ben Davies came into the team, played 88 minutes even though he hadn't started a game this season. How important is it to have someone like him who presumably is not a guy that moans or strops behind the scenes and just carries out what he's asked to?

I think those type of characters are so underrated in many ways. Ben is a fantastic character. A true pro and I would say ambassador for this club. The things he experienced the last 11 years here with all the ups and the downs and the ups and the downs. With 15 different managers or something like that...or at least a few. He's a fantastic guy to have. The way he stepped on the pitch with composure, personality, just helped us a lot. I think he did very well.

Can Mathys Tel get the minutes under you that he needs this season or will he have to head off on loan if you were to bring someone else in?

I think it's pretty fair to say that we are maybe a little bit short on offensive options. Hopefully. I think also it's fair, there's no one who's really grabbed that shirt on the left-hand side. So I think that's definitely up for grabs. I think it was a positive performance from Mathys. I think he did some positive things and got into good situations.

He had actually one where he bent it to the far corner where I think he's probably the best finisher from that position. Where I think he is a little bit disappointed in himself. It's fair, he's young. It's not like he played five games in a row. I hoped of course for him and for us that he could do it and we've seen it. So that was good.

I think he was also taking more care of the ball. I think it's a big thing. We spoke about that against Brentford and Crystal Palace. We lost the ball maybe 20-25 times. You should never lose the ball. That's also part of it. You can't break through. Okay, you protect it. One more pass, two more passes. Okay, then we go again. But overall positive.

Spurs dominated the first half against Sunderland, but actually overall possession-wise they had less despite being the home side. How has that happened against a newly-promoted team?

I think the first thing is that I agree with you. The first half was by far better than the second and even in the first half, it was not like we had 65 per cent or whatever. Sometimes it's not only about the possession. You like to dominate, but they went man-to-man, so there was a lot of open spaces to run into. For me, that's more the critical areas that we didn't manage to punish (them) from this game. Second half, I felt we dropped off in our drop-off runs to open up and keep the ball. I think also, it’s not like we won five games in a row and everything is just free and smooth. So, when you're up 1-0 and you really badly want to win, that can be a little bit, maybe a little bit nervy. One thing is our name and our fantastic history, another reality is where we are right now.

Going back to Mathys Tel, tried a lot of options on the left, are you eager to give him a run?

I would say that he definitely did a positive impact. Let's see what will happen against Bournemouth, but I'm with you, it's also that fine balance of giving some players the trust for a run of game, so they can maybe hopefully find a bit of rhythm and also increase their performance level. Then the tactical approach of the opponents, which players fit to that and get the right mix and balance in the team, but Matty in general was positive.

Bournemouth is next, an important game but you've got the FA Cup on Saturday, a hugely important competition. Does that come into your mind first for the team at Bournemouth or are you head down and focused on next one?For me, it's head down and focus on the next one. The next one is always the one ahead of me, ahead of us. For me, the FA Cup is also hugely important. Both games will be treated very, very importantly. If there's rotation, then it's because of rotation of getting freshness and energy into the team and that will be the main focus.

Because it’s Bournemouth, Dominic Solanke feels an easy topic. How has he looked in training and what gives you confidence he can hit the ground running straight away?

Today you could see in training that he's nice and composed on the ball, good decisions, good touches and then when we’re a little bit more competitive in the small-sided (games), he is of course lacking (sharpness) and he looked a little rusty, which is completely normal. Now he's unfortunately been out for at least six months, right? Yeah, six months, a little bit more than that, so, of course, it will take a little bit of time. So, even if he's ready for whatever time in the near future, hopefully (soon), then I think you will be surprised to just see him hit the ground running. Very few players do that.With Andoni Iraola, you beat him three times at Brentford, but what makes his team’s so difficult to play against?

I think Iraola has done a top job down there. First and foremost being part of creating an interesting team, with interesting players that have done well and developed them, so they've also gone to on paper play for big addresses (clubs). They play a very aggressive pressing game, one of the best pressing teams in the league, if not the best. They play with incredible intensity. They also play fairly direct, so if you press, boom there's a ball behind, so you need to deal with that. They have a very lively front four, no matter who plays, so that's where we need to be good and compete, but also be smart.

Mohammed Kudus was forced off in the early exchanges of Tottenham's 1-1 Premier League draw with Sunderland on Sunday

Thomas Frank has revealed Mohammed Kudus underwent a scan this afternoon on his thigh.

The Ghana international was forced off just 19 minutes into Spurs' 1-1 Premier League draw with Sunderland on Sunday with the muscular problem.

Frank has since confirmed Kudus is likely to miss Wednesday's trip to the Vitality Stadium when Tottenham face Bournemouth, explaining: "He went for a scan at 1pm to clarify the issue. I don't have anymore yet. Yes, he's unlikely to be available."

There was positive news, however, on two current Tottenham absentees as they close in on their long-awaited returns to action.

Left-back Destiny Udogie has been missing since early December when he picked up a hamstring strain in the 2-2 draw at Newcastle.

Meanwhile, striker Dominic Solanke is also finally on the comeback trail following minor ankle surgery in late September.

He has played just 52 minutes all season and just 33 of those have come in the Premier League.

Frank said of the pair: "Destiny is training and doing better. Solanke won't be in the squad but [it's] positive and going forward.

"Today you could see in training he's nice and composed on the ball. In the small sided game, he looked a bit more rusty which is understandable after six months out.

"So when he's back in the hopefully near future, it will take time. Very few players come straight back in after six months out and hit the ground running."