How this 23-year-old attacker can become Thomas Frank’s Yoane Wissa at Tottenham Hotspur – Opinion

Tottenham Hotspur have been looking to bring in Kalimuendo at Hotspur Way in this summer transfer window, and watching those YouTube clips of him has got a lot of Lilywhites supporters quite excited given how the 23-year-old French forward has the capacity to replicate what Wissa did under Thomas Frank at Brentford.

With Thomas Frank taking charge of the proceedings at Hotspur Way, it is expected that the Dane head coach will bring a lot of his structured play at M16 that he used with the Bees for years.

The thing is, when Thomas Frank first brought Yoane Wissa to Gtech Community Stadium, the now 28-year-old DR Congo international was neither a classic number nine nor a wide forward but more of a hybrid attacker (someone who could play across the front line whilst pressing aggressively and attacking spaces with intelligence.) Now fast-forward four years, and Wissa has become an integral part of the vertical play and counter-attacking identity at Brentford.

And with Tottenham needing such offensive versatility behind or around the primary #9 (Dominik Solanke), Kalimuendo offers a very similar profile who had the capacity to explode in the same way that Wissa did under Thomas Frank.

Let’s have a tactical role comparison of Kalimuendo and Wissa that is more focused on their strengths and its possible representation under Thomas Frank’s structure…

Wissa has that capacity to play as a wide forward as well as a secondary striker (something we saw with him at Brentford over the seasons), and similarly, you can also slot Arnaud Kalimuendo in the same SS role or in wide channels.

If we are talking off the ball movements, while Wissa is good at his presses in the form of diagonal channel runs, Kalimuendo is more suited to those out-to-in striker runs.

While Wissa is more of a high-intensity presser, in Kalimuendo, Thomas Frank will get someone who is more elite off the ball chaser.

Then when it comes to their physical profile, the Brentford ace is a more low-centre-of-gravity option and is more agile when compared to Rennes striker, who is more compact, equally agile and has those quick bursts.

And lastly, when we come to the finishing side of things, Wissa is more opportunistic and has that poacher instinct, while Kalimuendo is sharper in the box.

See, one thing that we can widely compound out of this is how both of them are non-classical forwards whose attributes are best when you allow them that freedom to drift and attack half-spaces and then give them that high pressing licence, and these are generally the natural instincts that come to use under the attacking transitions that Thomas Frank generally implemented in his sides.

How can Kalimuendo fit at Tottenham under Thomas Frank?

You can play him as a left-sided forward in a 3-5-2 where he is making those angled runs behind full-backs (this is quite similar to how Wissa used to feature when playing next to Ivan Toney). The thing is, Frank often allows one of his two strikers to drop between the lines and receive it, and Kalimuendo can do this with Maddison linking as a 10.

You can also play him as a wide forward in a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 where he starts wide but drifts inside quickly (much like Wissa did when Mbeumo used to keep the width). And he can interchange with Solanke during pressing sequences, which is also a key for the rotational pressing structure that the Dane head coach would want to implement at Tottenham.

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Author Opinion: Kalimuendo is Frank’s template signing

Arnaud Kalimuendo is more of a system-fit forward profile that has the capacity to bring goals and much more, given how his attributes are very much like that of Wissa, who went on to become a vital part of Thomas Frank’s Brentford team. And given that Tottenham are likely to switch to a rotational front line, Kalimuendo should be able to play 30 to 35 games a season, whether as a second striker, as a wide attacker, or even in a vertical outlet profile (maybe off the bench).

Kalimuendo is not only a Wissa-like player, but also he is likewise a long-term pressing forward that will help to bring a sense of attacking fluidity at N17 under Frank.