Latest news with #ThomasFrank
New York Times
6 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Tottenham make Antoine Semenyo enquiry to Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur have made an enquiry to Bournemouth about forward Antoine Semenyo but are not proceeding with a move for the Ghanaian forward at present. Semenyo is thought to be attracted by the prospect of a move to north London but Bournemouth's steep asking price has deterred further interest from Spurs in the short term, as well as his other suitors, including Manchester United. Advertisement Bournemouth are thought to value the 25-year-old winger at £65million. Semenyo has become an integral part of Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth side, scoring 21 goals across the last two seasons including 13 in 42 appearances in all competitions in 2024-25. New Spurs head coach Thomas Frank wants to add to his attacking options this summer, despite the club completing the signing of forward Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich on a permanent basis, following a five-month loan spell. Tel joined the north London club in a deal worth €35m (£29.9m), plus €10m (£8.5m) in potential bonuses. As reported by The Athletic on June 17, Spurs hope to persuade Bryan Mbeumo to follow Frank from Brentford but his preference is to join Manchester United, who submitted an opening offer of £45million plus a further £10m for the 25-year-old in add-ons earlier this month. Semenyo joined Bournemouth from Championship side Bristol City in January 2023 and agreed a new five-year deal at the south coast club in July 2024. He made 125 first-team appearances prior to joining Bournemouth, and also had spells out on loan at Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland earlier in his career. Additional reporting: Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Brentford close in on Thomas Frank successor – their own set-piece coach
Brentford are pushing forward with plans to promote from within and appoint Keith Andrews as successor to Thomas Frank. Andrews, 44, has been working as set-piece coach at the Gtech Community Stadium since last season and it is understood the club are looking to finalise him as their new manager ahead of pre-season starting next month. He will need to put together his own backroom staff, with Frank having taken three members of his team to Tottenham after ending his seven-year spell at Brentford. Frank took assistant coaches Justin Cochrane and Chris Haslam, with analyst Joe Newton also joining Spurs. Cochrane is highly rated on the coaching circuit and was in the running for the Brentford job until agreeing to join team up with Frank again. First-team assistant coach Claus Norgaard has also left. Andrews has also worked as a television pundit since retiring from a playing career in which he played for Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League. He was also part of the coaching set-up of Republic of Ireland, for whom he won 35 caps. Chris Wilder appointed him as a coach at Sheffield United in 2023 before he took up his role at Brentford working on set-pieces. Frank himself was in the backroom staff at Brentford before getting the manager's job when Dean Smith left, with the club once again looking to promote from within their own ranks. 1. Losing important forward It looks like Bryan Mbeumo will be leaving the club after six years, where he has established himself as one of the most efficient wide forwards in the Premier League. As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Manchester United have targeted him despite also signing Matheus Cunha from Wolves. Mbeumo will not be easy to replace, given how dependable and consistent he is in attack. 2. Playing style Brentford have played with a distinct style under Frank and supporters would not expect a huge change with a new manager. They have been playing in a fluid fashion, shifting from four at the back to three when out of possession. Their game is based on creating overloads and attacking from wide areas while keeping the central midfield compact. 3. Change in goal Mark Flekken was a successful signing from Freiburg in Germany and after two years at the club has earned a move to Bayer Leverkusen. Caoimhin Kelleher comes in from Liverpool and will be the No 1 for the first time in his career. 4. Backroom staff Justin Cochrane is regarded as one of the brightest coaching prospects in English football so losing him to Spurs is a blow, with Andrews needing to put together his own team. He has also lost analyst Joe Newton. So there will be a complete change behind the scenes rather than Frank being replaced and the set-up staying the same. There is also the challenge of this being Andrews' first taste of senior management. 5. Signings Brentford have signed Kelleher to replace Flekken and Michael Kayode's loan has been made permanent, but more signings signings will be expected and the pressure is on to get them right after doing well in the market in recent seasons.
New York Times
19 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Mathys Tel might just have the makings of an ideal Thomas Frank winger
Thomas Frank's spell at Brentford will be remembered for many things. First and foremost, he took the west London club, who were in League One as recently as 2013-14, to the Premier League for the first time. Once they reached England's top flight, he was the primary figure in ensuring they stayed there, reinforcing their reputation as one of the country's best-run clubs. And, perhaps most importantly for Tottenham Hotspur, he developed a group of talented young players into Premier League stars. Advertisement Ollie Watkins, Said Benrahma, Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa are now all international regulars, having made their names at Brentford. Now, he is challenged with doing the same for the catalogue of young players at his disposal in north London. Mathys Tel is the most recent addition to a promising group of youngsters, including Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Archie Gray. Over 20 appearances last season on loan under Ange Postecoglou, Tel demonstrated enough potential to persuade Spurs to sign him permanently from Bayern Munich on June 15, with Tottenham renegotiating the initial €55million (£45.7m; $56.9m) buy option down to €35million (plus €10m in potential bonuses) to secure the France Under-21 international on a six-year contract. '(I'm) very, very excited about Mathys signing a permanent deal,' Frank said in an interview with the club's website this week. 'I think he's a very talented player who can play across the front four positions. 'He's a goalscorer, that we can develop even further, and be even more consistent in his all-round game and also more consistent to land in the right positions in the box. I'm looking forward to it.' Despite scoring on his first start against Aston Villa, it took a while for Tel to find his feet in north London. With Tottenham's first and second-choice strikers Dominic Solanke and Richarlison sidelined through injury, Tel was thrown in at centre-forward. It's not a position he is entirely unfamiliar with, having previously deputised there at club and age-group national level, but it soon became apparent he lacked the experience and physicality to carry out that role effectively in the Premier League. As Postecoglou started to rest his typical starters in the league, leaning towards prioritising the Europa League, Tel started featuring more consistently on the wings, improving his performance. Advertisement A three-game stretch in April, where Tel scored in successive games against Southampton and Wolves before shining against Nottingham Forest at home, provided the impetus to finish the season strongly. While he could not prevent a 2-1 defeat to Nuno Espirito Santo's side, Tel created five chances and was a persistent threat, along with club and international team-mate Odobert, demonstrating his ability to impact matches at that level. Still, having not set the world alight on loan, registering two goals and two assists from 13 league matches, Spurs are buying Tel with a view to the player he could become. Fortunately for the club, Frank's track record suggests he could be the ideal coach to help Tel realise his potential. The list of forwards who have reached new heights under Frank is impressive, but Mbeumo's evolution is the most relevant when assessing how Tel could improve under the Dane. Mbeumo, 25, joined the west London club in 2019 from Troyes in France's Ligue 2 and started life under Frank strongly, scoring 15 goals in 42 league appearances in his debut season before adding eight in 44 as they secured promotion to the Premier League in 2020-21. While his Championship record, particularly in his first season, demonstrated Mbeumo's goalscoring potential, there was large scope for the Cameroon international to improve in the top flight. Before a career-best season in 2024-25, Mbeumo had failed to hit double figures in his three previous seasons in the Premier League and underperformed his expected goals tally in each, indicating a wastefulness from promising positions. Last season, however, Mbeumo took a significant leap and became one of the league's most clinical finishers. He registered 20 league goals last term — one of just five players to hit that number — from an xG of 12.3, the largest overperformance in the Premier League (7.7). While Frank has justifiably taken most of the credit for Mbeumo's improvement, a considerable portion should also be handed to assistant coach Justin Cochrane, who will join Frank in the Tottenham dugout. After leaving Manchester United in June 2022 for west London, Cochrane was primarily assigned to improve Brentford's attackers, pushing Mbeumo, Wissa and Kevin Schade to another level in front of goal with finishing drills. There are promising signs Frank and Cochrane could have a similar effect on Tel. Firstly, in his first two seasons at Bayern Munich, he scored 12 goals from an xG of 6.4 — an overperformance of 5.6, which is particularly remarkable given he was aged 17 and 18. Last term was Tel's first full season where he did not record a positive xG difference (-1.7 across periods at Bayern and Spurs), but there's considerable evidence that Tel has the raw qualities in front of goal to develop into a clinical finisher. Advertisement The first step is to get Tel into goalscoring positions more consistently. When stationed on the left under Postecoglou, the 20-year-old often hugged the touchline and called for passes into feet, where he would combine with the full-back or attempt to dribble inside and create for team-mates or shoot from distance. While Mbeumo was typically listed as a right winger and defended in that position, he was directed to move inside and play on the opposition's defensive line when Brentford had attacking opportunities, allowing Wissa to drop deeper and help with the build-up. In this instance, from Brentford's 4-2 win over Brighton and Hove Albion in April, Keane Lewis-Potter breaks through the Brighton and Hove Albion press by playing a give-and-go with Brentford midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk, allowing him to break ahead of Wissa and into the midfield. Mbeumo, who had made an out-to-in movement from the right, positioned himself between the Brighton centre-backs. Lewis-Potter slid in a pass, which Mbeumo guided into his path perfectly and finished across goal. Having deputised as a striker in Germany and England, Tel has shown glimpses of his ability to create space in central positions with clever movement. Here's one example from Bayern Munich's 4-3 win over Manchester United in September 2023. Tel faked a run closer to Joshua Kimmich, bringing Casemiro further out from United's defensive block to follow him, and sprinted in the gap it created on the edge of the box. Kimmich exploited the gap, lofting a pass over Casemiro and into Tel's path, who controlled the ball and fired into the top of the net. Here's another example of Tel making space from a central position, having started the match as a striker. On this occasion, Tel is positioned on the shoulder of the central defender and spun his marker in time with Bayern defender Bouna Sarr to split the Preussen Munster defence with a line-breaking pass, putting the forward on goal. Tel sprinted on and fired into the bottom corner. Given Solanke's ability to roam from central positions and connect with the midfield, Tel's ability to move into his area and finish could be a frequent route to Spurs goals under Frank. Another area which should encourage Frank is Tel's ability to finish with both feet. Since the 2022-23 season, Tel has scored 10 open-play goals with his right and five with his left, an impressive balance and, crucially, a characteristic he shares with Mbeumo. Take this moment, for example, where Mbeumo's ability to score with both feet leads to a goal for the Cameroon international. Having moved inside from the right wing, Mbeumo lays a pass into Wissa and darts into the space between the Fulham left-back and left-sided central defender. Wissa then returns a pass to Mbeumo, who can either slide a pass into Schade or go on his own. His ability to go both ways prompts a moment of pause from Fulham defender Calvin Bassey, and Mbeumo takes the ball onto his weaker right foot and scores across goal. Having the capability to go both ways is a world-class attribute Frank and Cochrane will attempt to maximise in Tel at Hotspur Way. Primarily, his two-footedness elevates his ability to score from various angles and positions, but it also increases his potential as a playmaker. In the clips below, Tel demonstrates his ability to break defensive lines with his right foot. And here… However, given his ball-striking ability with his weaker foot, there is also significant potential for improvement as a playmaker with his left. Frank is committed to improving players' strengths and weaknesses, and this is an area that could facilitate Tel's development. While it's unfair to presume Tel will immediately (or ever) reach Mbeumo's level from last season, their similarities on the pitch are striking. Neither take opposition full-backs on frequently (Tel is slightly higher at 1.57 successful take-ons per 90, compared to Mbeumo's 1.37), preferring to do their damage with moments of quality around the box. They're also varied finishers with a turn of pace that can leave defenders in the dust. It's now Frank and Cochrane's job to prepare Tel to demonstrate that quality in matches, as they did with Mbeumo. Top photo: Sebastian Frej/
The Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Thomas Frank facing major dilemma over Tottenham players' futures including Son Heung-min and £60m Richarlison
DOMINIC SOLANKE will feel ace after hearing the comments of his new boss Thomas Frank. Frank, snapped playing table-tennis at Tottenham's training ground yesterday, spoke glowingly of the England striker during his first interview. 6 6 6 He served up compliments to other players too — though keen-eared fans also noted those the Dane did NOT mention. Frank, 51, is only just through the door and will take time assessing his current squad with 2½ weeks until players return for pre-season. But then he must decide who is in and who is out as he bids to turn Spurs into a smash hit for the new Premier League campaign . . . GOALKEEPER FRANK is unlikely to bring in or ship out any of his main stoppers. There was some talk of AC Milan being interested in Guglielmo Vicario should Mike Maignan leave, but Spurs sources dismissed the prospect of selling the Italian, 28. The biggest question mark will be whether he sticks with Vicario as his first choice or if Antonin Kinsky, 22, signed from Slavia Prague for £12.5million in January, can convince him a swap is needed. Long-serving back-up Brandon Austin remains third choice while Alfie Whiteman leaves this month and highly-rated Josh Keeley could go out on loan again after spending last season at Leyton Orient. DEFENCE QUESTIONS remain over the future of Cristian Romero, one of those stars not named by Frank. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS The Argentine World Cup winner, 27, appeared to be agitating for a move last season, even speaking of his desire to play in LaLiga during a candid interview. Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone would love to sign him but a proposed £60million price tag could be prohibitive for a player who has two years left on his contract. Bryan Mbeumo give his reaction to Thomas Frank becoming Tottenham manager 6 Fans will also demand a quality replacement if Romero goes. Spurs offered £70m for Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi in January and the England man would likely be a target again. One who may benefit either way is Radu Dragusin, who met Frank this week along with the club's other injured players. The Romanian, 23, damaged knee ligaments in February and never seemed to fit into Ange Postecoglou's style. But Frank has a history of getting the best out of no-nonsense centre-backs. Sergio Reguilon is out on a free transfer, leaving Spurs with only three recognised full-backs — if you do not count the versatile Ben Davies. So another is likely to be required. MIDFIELD FRANK spoke of trying to get the best out of James Maddison and Rodrigo Bentancur, so both seem to be part of his plans. Spurs hope to tie down the Uruguayan to a new contract with only a year left. But if that does not happen an exit would not be ruled out amid interest from Atletico. Yves Bissouma also has only 12 months remaining and a few weeks ago fans would have expected the Malian, 28, to be sold given how far down the pecking order he fell under Postecoglou. But he played a pivotal role in the Europa League win over Manchester United and, with Frank often favouring two holding midfielders, his future is harder to call. Spurs want the Dane to develop their young talent, including teenagers Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray. But another holding midfielder, perhaps with more experience, could be on Frank's shopping list. ATTACK 'DOMINIC SOLANKE, I'm a big fan of him in terms of his abilities. I'm sure we'll make him score a lot of goals.' So said Frank of Spurs' £65m striker, who was always going to be central to his approach. But who backs up the England man and plays wide? Spurs have been open to selling Richarlison, 28, for a while now but, with his injury record and two years left on his deal, they might struggle to get an offer for the Brazilian that they will find acceptable. There is serious interest in Bryan Mbeumo, 25, who scored 20 Prem goals for Frank's Brentford last term — but Manchester United are also keen. Mathys Tel, 20, has signed permanently after his spell on loan from Bayern Munich but another speedy wideman may be targeted given how Frank likes his teams to break at pace. Then there is captain Son Heung-min, who is open to leaving after marking ten years at the club by lifting a trophy. Son turns 33 next month, is wanted by Saudi clubs, as well as former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce and also has only a year left on his contract. But his unique commercial value means Spurs will not let him go on the cheap — and almost certainly not until after the club's tour to South Korea at the start of August.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Thomas Frank facing major dilemma over Tottenham players' futures including Son Heung-min and £60m Richarlison
DOMINIC SOLANKE will feel ace after hearing the comments of his new boss Thomas Frank. Frank, snapped playing table-tennis at Tottenham's training ground yesterday, spoke glowingly of the 6 Thomas Frank is the new man in the Tottenham dugout Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 Guglielmo Vicario is likely to remain the club's first-choice goalkeeper Credit: Getty 6 Richarlison faces an uncertain future Credit: Getty He served up compliments to other players too — though keen-eared fans also noted those the Dane did NOT mention. Frank, 51, is only just through the door and will take time assessing his current squad with 2½ weeks until players return for pre-season. But then he must decide who is in and who is out as he bids to turn Spurs into a smash hit for the new Premier League campaign . . . GOALKEEPER FRANK is unlikely to bring in or ship out any of his main stoppers. READ MORE ON FOOTBALL There was some talk of The biggest question mark will be whether he sticks with Vicario as his first choice or if Antonin Kinsky, 22, signed from Slavia Prague for £12.5million in January, can convince him a swap is needed. Long-serving back-up Brandon Austin remains third choice while Alfie Whiteman leaves this month and highly-rated Josh Keeley could go out on loan again after spending last season at DEFENCE QUESTIONS remain over the future of Most read in Football JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS The Argentine World Cup winner, 27, appeared to be agitating for a move last season, even speaking of his desire to play in LaLiga during a candid interview. Bryan Mbeumo give his reaction to Thomas Frank becoming Tottenham manager 6 Cristian Romero could be on his way out of the club Credit: Getty Fans will also demand a quality replacement if Romero goes. Spurs offered £70m for One who may benefit either way is Radu Dragusin, who met Frank this week along with the club's other injured players. The Romanian, 23, damaged knee ligaments in February and never seemed to fit into Ange Postecoglou's style. But Frank has a history of getting the best out of no-nonsense centre-backs. Sergio Reguilon is out on a free transfer, leaving Spurs with only three recognised full-backs — if you do not count the versatile MIDFIELD FRANK spoke of trying to get the best out of Spurs hope to tie down the Uruguayan to a new contract with only a year left. But if that does not happen an exit would not be ruled out amid interest from Atletico. But he played a pivotal role in the Europa League win over Manchester United and, with Frank often favouring two holding midfielders, his future is harder to call. Spurs want the Dane to develop their young talent, including teenagers But another holding midfielder, perhaps with more experience, could be on Frank's shopping list. ATTACK 6 Frank is excited to work with Dominic Solanke Credit: Alamy 'DOMINIC SOLANKE, I'm a big fan of him in terms of his abilities. I'm sure we'll make him score a lot of goals.' So said Frank of Spurs' £65m striker, who was always going to be central to his approach. But who backs up the England man and plays wide? Spurs have been open to selling There is serious interest in Then there is captain Son turns 33 next month, is wanted by Saudi clubs, as well as former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce and also has only a year left on his contract. But his unique commercial value means Spurs will not let him go on the cheap — and almost certainly not until after the club's tour to 6 Son Heung-min is wanted in Saudi Arabia Credit: Alamy
