Spurs Hire Thomas Frank – Here’s What He’ll Bring To North London

Tottenham Hotspur have managed to bring an end to their short managerial saga by recruiting one of the Premier League’s best performing managers.

Yesterday it was announced that Brentford’s Thomas Frank would be swapping West London for North London, joining Spurs on a three-year deal. A bittersweet moment for many Tottenham fans, as the up-roar of former manager Ange Postecolglou’s sacking is still settling, yet they have signed a really promising replacement to take them forwards.

With Brentford, Frank reached the Premier League for he first ever time in the club’s history, and still managed to keep them there four years later. Now, the Dane gets the chance to compete with his new club in the most prestigious competition in club football – the UEFA Champions League.

His Career

If you were to pick a professional football manager at random, the chances are they would have left behind a lengthy professional career on the pitch as well - but not quite Thomas Frank. The Dane never experienced the life of a professional footballer yet has still managed to level up his game as the man in charge.

🧵Where did Thomas Frank’s career start?

Unlike many modern managers, Frank never played professionally at a top level. His playing days were spent with Frederiksværk Boldklub & Melby-Liseleje IF in Denmark. But that's just the beginning of his incredible journey. #THFC pic.twitter.com/TYZjmeFrLb

— LukeTHFC🇩🇰 (@LukeeTHFC) June 9, 2025

Frank began his managerial journey as a coach for Denmark’s youth teams, tutoring each of the under-16s, under-17s and then under-19s. He started this journey aged 35, from 2008 until he departed Denmark in 2013. This exit was not without reason though; Frank secured a first team managerial position with Danish Superligaen outfit Brøndby IF shortly afterwards.

In the manager’s first two seasons with the Danish side, he achieved fourth and third positions in the table – this secured a spot in the Europa League qualification stages each time. However, just over halfway into Frank’s third season with the boys from Vestegnen, he resigned from his position. This emerged after dark secrets were unmasked regarding the club’s chairman writing criticism online under a different alias.

Thomas Frank had to leave Brondby after the chairman criticised him on the Internet 😮 pic.twitter.com/9qaczQx3Wq

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) January 18, 2025

Shortly after his dramatic resignation from Brøndby, Thomas Frank united with Dean Smith at Brentford to become his assistant head coach. Just two years later in 2018, Smith set off for fellow Championship side Aston Villa leaving a huge gap at the Bees. That gap was then paved out for Thomas Frank, as the Dane was announced as Brentford's new first team coach.

Frank finished the rest of that season nowhere near where Brentford wanted to be, but the club stuck by him. Then, in his first full season in West London as manager, Frank and Brentford reached the Championship playoff final - with the help of some marquee players such as Ollie Watkins, Said Benrahma and Bryan Mbuemo.

Saïd Benrahma — 🅰️
Bryan Mbeumo — ⚽️
Ollie Watkins — ⚽️

Thomas Frank was right, BMW are back. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ltECnbTLZa

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) July 29, 2020

Unfortunately, West London rivals Fulham beat them at Wembley to deny the Bees promotion. However, this just made Frank and his men more urgent for promotion the following campaign. Brentford reached Wembley for the playoff final once again the year after - this time they made no mistake. With Championship top scorer Ivan Toney, the Bees edged past Swansea City in the final to grant themselves access to the Premier League for the first ever time. We all know the rest from there; four years on, the Bees still stand strong in the top tier, having not experienced any real relegation threat.

What Tactics Does He Offer?

Whilst Thomas Frank has in no way displayed a possession-based style since taking Brentford to the Premier League, he has definitely done so in the past. Last season, the Bees were ranked 15th in the league in terms of average possession (with 47.8%). However, competing against top teams with much greater assets meant that Brentford were certainly not expected to play a possession game.

(Premier League Average Possession 2024/25: FotMob)

In spite of this, when Frank has operated a team who challenge at the top of the table, he often showcases his possession and tiki-taka football. We saw this when Frank was at both Brøndby and Brentford in the Championship.

Furthermore, the Dane is a man who loves to play attacking football and score goals. Throughout Brentford’s years in the second tier, Frank had some incredible attacking talent at his disposal. In the 2019/20 season, Brentford’s iconic front three, labelled ‘BMW’, consisting of Benrahma, Mbeumo and Watkins, scored 57 league goals between them. The season after, star striker Ivan Toney captured a Championship record for the most goals in a season with 31. To add to these numbers, Thomas Frank’s Championship outfit scored the most goals in the division two years running between 2019 and 2021.

Bryan Mbeumo is just the second Brentford player to score 20 goals in a Premier League campaign after Ivan Toney in 2022/23. ⚽ pic.twitter.com/hOm5vcuI0Z

— Squawka (@Squawka) May 25, 2025

With Ivan Toney passing the scoring legacy onto both Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo in recent campaigns, Frank certainly has not let his traditions alter.

Who Could He Sign?

It is no secret that Brentford’s star man Bryan Mbuemo will be heavily sought after heading into this summer’s transfer window. It has also become well known that Manchester United are densely linked with the winger. But could Thomas Frank hijack a move for his golden boy?

The Cameroonian has just concluded his sixth season with the Bees, scoring 70 goals in total - including a whopping 20 goals in the Premier League last term. The 25-year-old also still has a year left on his current contract, without a release clause, therefore Tottenham would have to pay a hefty sum for the attacker. However, he is a player that would be perfect for Spurs. With Heung-Min Son aging, and with no real goal scoring identity going forward, Mbeumo could be the right man for the job.

BREAKING: Tottenham Hotspur have held initial discussions with Brentford about a deal for Bryan Mbeumo 🚨

Mbeumo is understood to be more intrigued by a move to Tottenham now that Thomas Frank has become their head coach. pic.twitter.com/3Y7IDg70ca

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 13, 2025

Will He Succeed?

Many believe that Ange Postecoglou’s recent sacking from Spurs was harsh, after winning the club’s first trophy in 17 years. Therefore, Thomas Frank is heading into a role which absorbs a lot of pressure and expectation. We have seen Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy ruthlessly fire many coaches in the past, so he is no pushover when it comes to punishing poor performance.

However, Thomas Frank is a manager who will bring a lot of flair to Tottenham and has valuable experience in Premier League settings. He has overachieved with Brentford ever since they were promoted, so will be hoping to bring the same energy to North. London.