Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has named his five-man leadership group
Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has finally announced his five-man leadership group for the 2025/26 season.
The Danish tactician has since confirmed Cristian Romero as his club captain for the 2025/26 campaign, a move that followed the exit of legendary figure Son Heung-min. The 51-year-old had previously spoken about the leadership group, often highlighting that it was something that he wanted to name only after spending a considerable amount of time with the squad.
Now, the clarity over the leadership group has arrived. Being the skipper, Romero spearheads the group and is joined by Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies, James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario, as Thomas Frank looks to put together a number of leaders capable of setting high standards across what he expects will be a successful campaign.
Thomas Frank sheds light on the newly formed leadership group at Tottenham
Addressing the media ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Leeds United this weekend, Frank spoke about his choices for the leadership group. He wants these five players to guide the squad well on and off pitch and take responsibility for the “bigger picture” ahead.
“Finally! You guys pushed me so I had to take a decision. I couldn’t postpone anymore,” Frank said in his press conference.
“It’s down to a few bits. There is quite a few with leadership potential in them and I think the more we have that want to speak and take responsibility for the bigger picture, the better. That’s what makes the great teams. I think this group covers the squad, so that all groups are touched and in sync.”
Some surprising exclusions from the leadership group
As is often the case with such news, the inclusion and exclusion of some players in the five-man leadership group has becoming a talking point within the Tottenham fanbase.
Maddison and Davies’ inclusion has been a bit of a head-scratcher, as the former has been ruled out for the majority of the season after suffering a horror ACL injury in August and the latter has not featured for Frank’s side so far this season. Van de Ven’s selection is justified, given he is a key cog in the backline and also led the team against Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League in midweek in Romero’s absence.
However, the exclusion of Pedro Porro is extremely surprising. The Spaniard successfully captained Tottenham to a 3-0 Carabao Cup third-round victory over Doncaster Rovers last week. Nonetheless, the denial of a former role does not automatically dismiss these players from contributing as leaders in their own manner- both on the pitch and off it.