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New York Times
13 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Tottenham's transfer policy will please Danny Rose, but will it get results?
It used to be said of Tottenham Hotspur that they were so keen on finding value in the transfer market they would ignore players who were right under their noses. When Spurs full-back Danny Rose famously told UK newspaper The Sun in 2017 that he wanted them to sign players he did not 'have to Google', it struck a chord with the fanbase for a reason. This was an era when the club's transfer business was necessarily constrained by the new-stadium build, a huge billion-plus project they had to pay for themselves, with no hand-outs from anyone else. Advertisement What is so striking about Tottenham's transfer business in this window is how commonplace it is for them to target players who require far less research. Of course, there is still a hunt for bargains, for young unknowns who can develop and then shine at Tottenham. That was the case when Fabio Paratici was in charge of their recruitment, and even more so now Johan Lange is technical director. The recent purchase of Kota Takai from Japan's Kawasaki Frontale — not a player many of us had heard of — is the perfect example of this type of signing. A highly-rated youngster with great data who Spurs could beat the competition to. Antonin Kinsky, the goalkeeper signed from Slavia Prague in January, was another example of a similar trend. Go back slightly further, and the likes of Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, though highly regarded by those well-versed in global youth football, were hardly household names before arriving in north London. Both ended the 2024-25 season having played a huge role in the club's Europa League triumph. But while Tottenham continue to go for players such as Takai and Kinsky — ones you can be forgiven for needing to Google — they have also made a habit of adding players who require no introduction. Which is what we have seen this month with the arrival of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United for £55million, and the attempt — still unresolved — to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest for £60m. Take a step back, and this is perhaps the defining trend in Spurs' transfer business in the past few years. And it is not the behaviour of a club shy about making their presence felt in the market. When Rose made those famous comments eight years ago, it was not quite true that Tottenham never bought from other Premier League sides. For example, they signed Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama in summer 2016 for £11million. He made an instant impact in elevating the level of the team. Which is what you want when you buy an established player from a team in the same division. And a few weeks after Rose's intervention, Spurs signed Fernando Llorente from Swansea City for £12m, although in truth the Spanish striker was always a high-level Plan B during his time at the club rather than a guaranteed starter. Advertisement After Llorente, however, Tottenham did not sign another player from a fellow Premier League side for another three years. (When Ryan Sessegnon and Jack Clarke were bought in summer 2019, from Fulham and Leeds United respectively, those sides were in the second-tier Championship.) It was not until 2020, when they added Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton and Matt Doherty of Wolves, that they started to buy from their own division again. And neither of those deals involved a big fee either, with each player costing roughly £15million. It was only really in summer 2022 that Spurs started to behave like they routinely do now. Remember that this was after one full season of post-pandemic football. Antonio Conte wanted some more experienced additions to his team after finishing in fourth and sealing Champions League football. It was no secret that Everton needed to sell Richarlison before the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR) reporting deadline of June 30. Spurs managed to get him for a deal of £50million, plus a potential £10m more in add-ons. It was one of the biggest deals in Tottenham's history, and a clear change in policy. Later that summer, they signed Yves Bissouma from Brighton & Hove Albion for £25m. The next summer, when Ange Postecoglou came in as manager, Spurs went again to sign established top-flight players for significant fees. Leicester City had just been relegated, but Tottenham had been tracking their midfielder James Maddison for years. They persuaded him to join and bought him for £40million in late June. At the end of the window, they targeted Brennan Johnson of Nottingham Forest, another club who needed to sell for PSR reasons, and landed him for £47.5m. In Postecoglou's second (and last) summer, Spurs broke their transfer record with another big Premier League purchase. Bournemouth were not in quite the same situation as Everton in 2022 or Forest in 2023, but Dominic Solanke had two years left on his deal, and it was their last chance to make money on him. Tottenham picked him up for an initial £55million, with another £10m in potential add-ons. Advertisement Put those four deals together — Richarlison, Maddison, Johnson and Solanke — and it establishes a clear pattern. Spurs are not afraid to pay fees that used to be far beyond them for proven Premier League talent. Especially when they know the selling club, for whatever reason, are not in much of a position to resist. While it may be tempting to suggest these players (and Bissouma) have sometimes flattered to deceive at Tottenham, it is worth remembering all bar Maddison started that Europa League final, and all played a part in that long-overdue trophy win. Remember too that there is precedent for a strategy like this. Liverpool — the Premier League's best case study in how to spend money smartly — built some of the foundations for their recent successes on the signings of players who had been relegated from the Premier League: Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle United in 2016, Andy Robertson from Hull City the year after. Sadio Mane — who Spurs also wanted — came in from mid-table Southampton. But given what we have seen from Tottenham in the past three years, it should perhaps be no surprise that they started their summer by targeting Kudus, given how valuable that money would be to West Ham in the market. And even the move for Gibbs-White, if unexpected, was still consistent with that strategy. Of course, they certainly might have added more established players than they did last summer, and the struggles of the team to compete on multiple fronts can be attributed in part to the fact that Solanke was their only experienced signing. And transfer fees are not the same thing as wage bills, and it is in salary terms that Spurs have lost ground relative to their rivals in recent years. Even though the club has spent more on fees than ever before, some observers have pointed to the reduced wage bill as being at least as important. Maybe this window is an attempt to make up for all that, to give new head coach Thomas Frank the tools to compete on multiple fronts. And to give the fans players they do not need to look up in advance. (Top photo of Gibbs-White and Kudus;)
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Inside Thomas Frank's plan for Tottenham revolution with help of old pal Johan Lange
Tottenham's new manager and sporting director's relationship revealed below TOTT-AL RECALL Inside Thomas Frank's plan for Tottenham revolution with help of old pal Johan Lange Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THOMAS FRANK and Johan Lange shared a tiny office at Danish minnows Lyngby 20 years ago. They are now in far more luxurious surroundings, mapping out Tottenham's bright new future at their state-of-the-art training ground. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Tottenham's new manager Thomas Frank and sporting director Johan Lange have known each other for 20 years And that is truly up and running with this week's £55million swoop for Mohammed Kudus, while Morgan Gibbs-White's £50million move has been put on hold for legal reasons. Birger Jorgensen was director of football at Lyngby in the mid-2000s when he gave Frank his big break. Lange, who coached the Copenhagen side's reserves, is now Frank's technical director at Spurs after the new boss was lured from Brentford. Jorgensen, 60, visited them earlier this summer and prays they make a fast start to the season. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS EUR OUT Furious Parish blasts 'ludicrous' Uefa for RELEGATING Palace from Europa League He told SunSport: 'Both know there's a danger that they are now working together. Two former friends from the same nationality, a small country, it's a tough world. 'Even though Thomas has done a good job in the last six or seven years at Brentford, if you lose your first five games nobody will remember that. 'But, hopefully, they can succeed together because they are thinking more or less in the same way. 'They can be strategically aligned recruitment-wise and playing-wise. They are the same people as 20 years ago. Both of them deserve to be where they are now. 6 Johan Lange started his managerial career as Copenhagan's assistant CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'It is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I cross all my fingers that they can succeed — especially in the beginning because then you have a chance to continue the good vibes.' Tottenham have gone from a manager accused of never adapting his style — to one who has changed tack since his early days in coaching. Will 'hothead' Kudus fit in at Tottenham after controversial West Ham exit? | Transfers Exposed Frank earned his move to succeed the puritanical Ange Postecoglou at Spurs after a Brentford stint where set-piece prowess and defensive solidity were key to his success. But he was not always like that. Frank's role was 'individual coach', a Danish FA-subsidised position working on a one-to-one basis with the club's best talent aged 16-22. Among those was a teenage Christian Norgaard, who Arsenal have just signed from Brentford. Jorgensen added: 'When we were working together decades ago, we were never talking set-pieces, it wasn't a part of football. 6 Thomas Frank established Brentford as a solid Premier League team 6 Spurs signed Frank from Brentford after paying his £10million release clause 'We were never talking about defending out of possession — we wanted to have the ball all the time. 'Thomas has definitely changed that part at Brentford. He is very focused on set-pieces, for and against, and very focused on the transition, defending and all that kind of stuff. 'I brought Thomas and Johan to Lyngby because I believed they had the same mentality - curious, hard-working, good people Jorgensen 'The game changed and he adapted when he was in the big leagues. It's because Thomas and Johan are smart people. They sniff what is going on inside football.' The individual coach role is something Frank and Lange have introduced this summer at Spurs, with ex-RB Leipzig and Rangers man Cameron Campbell taking the position. Frank and Lange were heavily influenced by Lyngby's first-team manager Kasper Hjulmand, the Denmark coach that lost to England in the Euro 2020 semi-finals. Other staff members also made their name further down the line. The Under-19s boss Niels Frederiksen has just won the Polish top flight with Lech Poznan. 6 Frank is about to start pre-season training with Spurs 6 Spurs sacked Ange Postecoglou 16 days after lifting the Europa League final Jorgensen continued: 'Nobody knew that group of individuals would succeed later on in a number of different ways. 'For small money, we found it interesting to work and inspire each other, play some good football, make some good scouting. 'We always said, 'serious people with a social life', in that period. 'We enjoyed each other's company and enjoyed the life. 'I brought Thomas and Johan to Lyngby because I believed they had the same mentality — curious, hard-working, good people. They were fantastic together. 'In Denmark, we don't have big ambitions to run a Premier League team. If you asked Johan and Thomas back then, I don't think they would have believed they could go so far. 'I don't think we would have said they would go to Premier League clubs back then — maybe big clubs in Denmark. But later on, why not? 'Because they are both skilful, hard-working, clever, good at working with people and strategic.' Frank honed his communication and motivational skills at Lyngby before moving on to coach Denmark Under-17s in 2008. As well as Norgaard, Frank helped mould striker Yussef Poulsen. Jorgensen said he was 'not such a skilful player back then' but is now 'a big shot' at RB Leipzig. Lange, 45, is a transfer power- broker now, but he was on the training pitch then, before returning in 2013 as Lyngby's manager. That followed a brief spell as Stale Solbakken's assistant at Wolves a year prior. He later moved into a recruitment role at Copenhagen before taking similar jobs at Aston Villa and now Spurs. Having an old pal in such a prominent position should help Frank to get used to his new surroundings. But both need only look at the rapid turnover of managers and executives under chairman Daniel Levy to know their friendship will count for nothing if they do not deliver results.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Inside Thomas Frank's plan for Tottenham revolution with help of old pal Johan Lange
THOMAS FRANK and Johan Lange shared a tiny office at Danish minnows Lyngby 20 years ago. They are now in far more luxurious surroundings, mapping out Tottenham' s bright new future at their state-of-the-art training ground. 6 And that is truly up and running with this week's £55million swoop for Mohammed Kudus, while Morgan Gibbs-White's £50million move has been put on hold for legal reasons. Birger Jorgensen was director of football at Lyngby in the mid-2000s when he gave Frank his big break. Lange, who coached the Copenhagen side's reserves, is now Frank's technical director at Spurs after the new boss was lured from Brentford. Jorgensen, 60, visited them earlier this summer and prays they make a fast start to the season. He told SunSport: 'Both know there's a danger that they are now working together. Two former friends from the same nationality, a small country, it's a tough world. 'Even though Thomas has done a good job in the last six or seven years at Brentford, if you lose your first five games nobody will remember that. 'But, hopefully, they can succeed together because they are thinking more or less in the same way. 'They can be strategically aligned recruitment-wise and playing-wise. They are the same people as 20 years ago. Both of them deserve to be where they are now. 6 'It is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I cross all my fingers that they can succeed — especially in the beginning because then you have a chance to continue the good vibes.' Tottenham have gone from a manager accused of never adapting his style — to one who has changed tack since his early days in coaching. Will 'hothead' Kudus fit in at Tottenham after controversial West Ham exit? | Transfers Exposed Frank earned his move to succeed the puritanical Ange Postecoglou at Spurs after a Brentford stint where set-piece prowess and defensive solidity were key to his success. But he was not always like that. Frank's role was 'individual coach', a Danish FA-subsidised position working on a one-to-one basis with the club's best talent aged 16-22. Among those was a teenage Christian Norgaard, who Arsenal have just signed from Brentford. Jorgensen added: 'When we were working together decades ago, we were never talking set-pieces, it wasn't a part of football. 6 6 'We were never talking about defending out of possession — we wanted to have the ball all the time. 'Thomas has definitely changed that part at Brentford. He is very focused on set-pieces, for and against, and very focused on the transition, defending and all that kind of stuff. 'I brought Thomas and Johan to Lyngby because I believed they had the same mentality - curious, hard-working, good people Jorgensen The Sun 'The game changed and he adapted when he was in the big leagues. It's because Thomas and Johan are smart people. They sniff what is going on inside football.' The individual coach role is something Frank and Lange have introduced this summer at Spurs, with ex-RB Leipzig and Rangers man Cameron Campbell taking the position. Frank and Lange were heavily influenced by Lyngby's first-team manager Kasper Hjulmand, the Denmark coach that lost to England in the Euro 2020 semi-finals. Other staff members also made their name further down the line. The Under-19s boss Niels Frederiksen has just won the Polish top flight with Lech Poznan. 6 6 Jorgensen continued: 'Nobody knew that group of individuals would succeed later on in a number of different ways. 'For small money, we found it interesting to work and inspire each other, play some good football, make some good scouting. 'We always said, 'serious people with a social life', in that period. 'We enjoyed each other's company and enjoyed the life. 'I brought Thomas and Johan to Lyngby because I believed they had the same mentality — curious, hard-working, good people. They were fantastic together. 'In Denmark, we don't have big ambitions to run a Premier League team. If you asked Johan and Thomas back then, I don't think they would have believed they could go so far. 'I don't think we would have said they would go to Premier League clubs back then — maybe big clubs in Denmark. But later on, why not? 'Because they are both skilful, hard-working, clever, good at working with people and strategic.' Frank honed his communication and motivational skills at Lyngby before moving on to coach Denmark Under-17s in 2008. As well as Norgaard, Frank helped mould striker Yussef Poulsen. Jorgensen said he was 'not such a skilful player back then' but is now 'a big shot' at RB Leipzig. Lange, 45, is a transfer power- broker now, but he was on the training pitch then, before returning in 2013 as Lyngby's manager. That followed a brief spell as Stale Solbakken's assistant at Wolves a year prior. He later moved into a recruitment role at Copenhagen before taking similar jobs at Aston Villa and now Spurs. Having an old pal in such a prominent position should help Frank to get used to his new surroundings.
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Inside Tottenham's Danish takeover: Thomas Frank, 'the Brain', the evil genius and how they became the best at spotting future stars
Johan Lange was head coach of Lyngby in the Danish second tier when his old friend Stale Solbakken called to tell him he was in the wrong job. They had worked closely before. At FC Copenhagen during Solbakken's first spell in charge, Lange coached the young professionals in transition from the academy to the first team.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tottenham confirm appointment of Thomas Frank as new manager
Tottenham have confirmed the appointment of Thomas Frank as their new manager. The 51-year-old Dane joins from Brentford on a contract that runs until 2028, and succeeds Ange Postecoglou, who delivered Europa League glory to end Spurs' 17-year trophy drought but was sacked because of dismal results in the Premier League. Spurs moved to line up Frank before dismissing Postecoglou last Friday, holding talks via intermediaries and plainly keen to avoid a protracted search for the person to lead them forward after a season in which they finished 17th with 38 points. Only once in club history have they had a worse league record – in 1914-15. Advertisement Related: Ange Postecoglou's triumphant sacking holds the key to modern football | Jonathan Liew When Frank, who has impressed with his work in charge at Brentford during a near seven-year period, gave the green light, Spurs knew he was within their grasp because of a £10m release clause in his contract. They have spent the past few days negotiating the finer details, plus the transfer of some of Frank's coaches from Brentford. The writing had been on the wall for Postecoglou, with the expectation that he would depart even if he led Spurs past Manchester United in the Europa League final on 21 May. The club said they could not 'base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph' when they announced Postecoglou's departure. The move for Frank has been pushed by Tottenham's technical director, Johan Lange, a Dane who has a longstanding relationship with his compatriot. Lange gave Frank his first full-time position in the game as a youth coach at B93 in 2004, although they did not spend much time together at the club as Lange soon left. Advertisement The pair were reunited not long after at Lyngby where Frank came to the attention of the Danish Football Association, who hired him as the coach of their under-16s, under-17s and later the under-19s. From there Frank got his break in senior management at Brøndby in 2013, managing them for almost three seasons before going to Brentford, where he worked initially as the assistant to Dean Smith. He succeeded him as the manager in October 2018. Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'. If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you're on the most recent version. In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications. Turn on sport notifications. Spurs have been impressed by more than the headline items of Frank's Brentford tenure – the promotion from the Championship via the playoffs in 2021, how he has established them in the Premier League, finishing 13th, ninth, 16th and 10th. Frank consistently over-achieved in relation to his financial means at Brentford; they have one of the smallest budgets in the division. An excellent communicator and noted developer of young talent, he has also shown himself to be tactically flexible. A Spurs statement read: 'We are delighted. In Thomas we are appointing one of the most progressive and innovative head coaches in the game. He has a proven track record in player and squad development and we look forward to him leading the team as we prepare for the season ahead.' Justin Cochrane will join Frank at Tottenham as his assistant while he has also brought the head of performance, Chris Haslam, and first-team analyst Joe Newton with him from Brentford. Another assistant coach, Andreas Georgson, will arrive from Manchester United. Frank prioritised possession-based attacking football in the Championship but adapted in the Premier League, becoming more solid and direct while retaining a powerful threat on set pieces and long throws. That said, Brentford could still build through the thirds and they were the joint-fifth highest scorers in the league during this past season. His preference is for a back three and wing-backs, which could suit Spurs's current full-backs Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence. Advertisement Frank has yet to win silverware or manage in European competition beyond Europa League qualifying stages; Spurs are back in the Champions League after the Europa League triumph. But he is not short of high-profile backers. Pep Guardiola predicted last September that Frank would one day join an elite-level club. 'It is just a question of time,' said Manchester City's manager. 'I'm good in a few things, one of which is reading when the manager is good. It is going to happen. Thomas is one of the best. What his team does always makes sense. Every corner is a headache. They are compact. This season they have a high press.' Jürgen Klopp described Frank as 'a cool guy' who he respected a lot in November 2023. 'He plays against possession teams one way and plays against other teams when all of a sudden they are a possession team themselves,' the then Liverpool manager said. 'It's really interesting.'
