Thomas Frank takes charge of the proceedings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the Dane head coach takes over from Ange Postecoglou, who was relieved of his duties despite the North Londoners winning the Europa League in the last season.
With Andy the Dane taking charge of the proceedings at Tottenham, many are expecting him to give some outcasts at N17 another opportunity and bring the best out of them, especially because if you look back at the history of him developing players, it is very rich at Getch Community Stadium, where he has time and again got the best out of the players at his disposal, and that is something Daniel Levy and the North London supporters would be hoping for with the current roster.
And as he comes in, there are a few players in particular that can use this clean slate and take the opportunity to rejuvenate themselves under Thomas Frank, and I will try to take a look at three players who can change the trajectory of their careers under the Dane head coach.
3 Tottenham players that can massively improve under Thomas Frank
Manor Solomon
The first thing about Thomas Frank is that he does not rely on flashy individualism but instead bags on two-way discipline and vertical transitions, and this is where Solomon’s ability can be utilised.
The Israeli is one of the few players at Tottenham who has that genuine stride when he takes his dribbles, especially in 1v1s, which is very reminiscent of how Pedro Neto and Gabriel Martinelli of Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively, take on their markers. Solomon hugs the touchline and then cuts in quite aggressively.
Manor Solomon warrants a second chance, and this isn’t a sentimental choice; it makes more structural sense. The thing is that he is built for a system where directness and dependability are valued much more than flair.
See, the thing is that the Dane head coach thrives having technically intelligent and quick wide players in his roster, especially the ones that don’t rely purely on physical traits. As we saw with Brentford, given how he used players like Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade to take advantage of their vertical width and try to create separation through structured patterns to hand them an advantage.
With Solomon, especially when the Israeli is fit, he is agile and has that two-footed ability given how he carries the ball well into dangerous zones.
Richarlison
We all know that the Brazilian’s game is more chaotic, complemented by the pressing intensity that he boasts and that positional disruption ability, but the thing is, when he used to feature under Ange Postecoglou, he was often caught between roles, and when played in a role, it lacked consistency. So under Thomas Frank, what I am expecting is that the Dane coach who loves these high-pressing and relentless forwards (like Toney) would get the best out of Richy. Maybe the former Everton star, given his defensive work rate and physicality, could be remoulded into an efficient second striker or pressing #9.
Playing in the centre forward role with either Tel or Solanke in a 3-5-2 could take Richy a long way. Moreover, you can also play him as a left-sided forward drifting in to attack the box (much like how Frank used Mbeumo from the right at Brentford).
See, Thomas Frank is really good at rebuilding the confidence of players, and the Dane can, in fact, tailor a set of his offensive sequences in a way that complements the work rate and instinct that the Brazilian international brings to the table at N17.
I think under the Dane head coach, Richarlison can thrive in that second striker role given all the attention will be taken away from him.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- TTLB Opinion: Is Postecoglou the reason behind Maddison’s underwhelming season at Tottenham?
- TTLB Opinion: Tottenham target Branthwaite and Guehi – but who makes more sense?
- TTLB Opinion: Should Tottenham be worried about Van de Ven to Real Madrid or is it all agent talks?
Mathys Tel
While Tottenham signed the French sensation on loan from Bayern Munich in January, we only saw glimpses of brilliance from him (in a sense, I will call it more of raw explosiveness). Tel has got massive potential, but the thing is that he is very raw, and now playing under a coach who has honed Ivan Toney’s all-round game and made Wissa/Mbeumo into a consistent threat in the English top tier, the former Bayern ace’s ceiling could be unlocked at Tottenham.
The thing is, we all know that Tel loves to play in chaotic sequences, but now with Thomas Frank, he will add a sense of positional structure to his game and end up working on getting his off-ball movements right while teaching him how to make decisions in low-tempo possession phases.
Frank loves raw players, as we have seen him develop a lot of raw talent at Brentford, and perhaps Tel could be his greatest Tottenham asset, especially if the Frenchman comes into his potential.