3 key positions that Thomas Frank should be looking to target – Opinion

With Thomas Frank taking charge of the proceedings at Tottenham Hotspur, we are expecting a lot of changes at Hotspur Way, given how the Dane wants to implement his style of play at N17.

Taking up a mid-block structured approach under the Dane would be a big systematic change from the way the North Londoners played under Ange Postecoglou, where they implemented a high-speed positional system which relied a lot on attacking with surprise, while under Frank it will be a lot about picking your moments and operating in zones.

And we take this opportunity to explore three positions that the new head coach at Hotspur Way would be looking to prioritise in terms of shuffling the personnel as he looks to implement his playing style and bring in his set of players to do so.

3 key positions that Thomas Frank should be looking to target in his first summer in charge

Goalkeeper

Tottenham have Guglielmo Vicario operating as the first-choice goalkeeper at N17, and while he is exciting, he has had moments of fragility that have frustrated the supporters time and again, especially in the last season. Now if we consider the keeper ideal for the system that Thomas Frank is expected to implement at N17, he needs to be good at claiming crosses and having a sense of domination in the air. Moreover, you’d expect him to have that decision-making capacity in the passing range, especially under pressure.

But given how the former Empoli goalkeeper has often had messy situations when the North Londoners were forced into slower buildup or when Ange Postecoglou’s side faced heavy set-piece pressure last season, which ended up exposing his hesitance.

Centre back

Considering the fact that Cristian Romero has been subject to links with a move away from Hotspur Way, we are already seeing the Lilywhites being linked with a wide range of defenders, ranging from Nathan Collins and Marc Guehi to Jarrad Branthwaite. But while doing so, the Lilywhites also have to solve a few problems at the back, starting with how they struggled to maintain physicality in the dead ball situations in the last campaign. And we also saw how there were problems with dealing with long balls, especially when Romero went on his adventures up ahead.

The North Londoners conceded many goals in the last season due to the lack of leadership on the defensive side of the game, complemented by poor recovery angles, which could also be due to how they placed themselves under Ange Postecoglou, and then there was this failure to win the second ball and clearances, which were still landing in dangerous zones.

Now Thomas Frank needs someone at the heart of defence who can organise the line and cover spaces whilst dominating in the air and being effective in low/moderate blocks, especially in Champions League games. Andy, this will also allow. Tottenham to push the full-backs a bit higher with less risk.

Defensive Midfielder

At the moment the North Londoners have Bentancur, Bissouma, and Sarr, but none of them are consistent #6 profiles, while all of them are better at operating in box-to-box roles or in secondary ball carrier roles. Andy, this is why the Lilywhites have lacked control at times whilst not having that compactness and any ability to cut passing lanes, especially against teams that attack from the middle.

Thomas Frank needs a #6 that has the capacity to see deep and intercept while screening the sequence coming in. And when it comes to build-up, dropping between the centre-backs in the build-up phases. He will also need someone who brings that aggressive second-ball recovery ability given how the North Londoners struggled here in the last season.

We saw how Thomas Frank built his core at Brentford around players like Norgaard (who is also a target at Tottenham), someone who can act as a natural shield in the second phase while reading the game and a positional anchor.

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?

Author Opinion

Thomas Frank and how he operates relies a lot on defensive shape complemented by fast transitions and aerial as well as structural dominance. So if we revamp in these three positions, then not only are Tottenham more solid, but suddenly this roster looks European-ready (a more well-rounded team that can fight on multiple fronts).