Archive June 13, 2025

After seven successful years with Brentford, Thomas Frank opted to swap west London for north London when he signed a deal to become Tottenham Hotspur’s new boss.

The 51-year-old Dane replaced Ange Postecoglou who was sacked despite leading Spurs to their first major trophy in 17 years.

Frank was the second-longest-serving manager in the Premier League while with the Bees, behind only Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola.

Since he took charge at Brentford in 2018, Spurs have had five different permanent managers with Frank becoming the sixth.

Sami Mokbel, Senior football correspondent

Prior to Postecoglou’s exit, Tottenham were focussed on adding greater experience to their young squad.

Among the attractions to Frank for Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was the Dane’s long-standing relationship with technical director Johan Lange.

The pair, according to sources, hold a similar view as to the profile of player required to take this team forward.

“There’s a synergy there,” said one well-placed insider.

That bodes well ahead of what will be a pivotal summer for the club.

Among the positions the club are looking to add experience is in central midfield and at centre-back given the interest from Spain in Cristian Romero, though as of yet no rival clubs have shown an indication that they are willing to match his £70million asking price.

Spurs tried and failed to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi in the summer but remain interested, though the England centre-back has options elsewhere.

Likewise, with captain Heung-min Son a target for Saudi clubs – Tottenham are closely monitoring the forward market. Intriguingly, Spurs want Manchester United target Bryan Mbeumo – a key player for Frank at Brentford.

They have been interested in Crystal Palace and England attacker Eberechi Eze, who has a £68million release clause.

Tottenham are understood to be exploring whether to keep loanee Mathys Tel at the club in some capacity next season.

The club’s qualification for the Champions League should ensure a more substantial budget for Spurs to utilise in the summer market.

But there is a growing sense that owners, the ENIC Group, are taking a greater interest over the club’s operations; with that in mind it will be interesting to see how that focus impacts expenditure.

Like at most clubs, the structuring of transfers will be a key element of how freely Spurs can operate this summer given instalments for previous deals are due this summer.

There will certainly be moves to sell players, too. In addition to the uncertainty surrounding Romero and Son, midfielder Yves Bissouma’s future needs to be resolved this summer with his contract due to expire next year.

BBC Sport Tottenham fan contributor, Anna Howells (Spurs XY)

Like any manager who’s come into Spurs recently, Frank will have to focus on creating a squad that he can work with efficiently and effectively.

What will be unique for Frank is that he’s coming into a dressing room full of Europa League winners, who all spoke fondly of his predecessor. Getting the backing of players, fans and the board surely have to be his priorities.

In terms of expectations, in some ways it will be hard to top lifting a trophy, however having an improved Premier League season and finishing position is the bare minimum.

Being in the Champions League will have its challenges I’m sure, but a decent cup run and a high enough finish in the league would be a decent first season. We definitely need to be winning more games at home, that’s a non-negotiable.

As a fan, I would like to see more of the squad being used, I would like to see more youngsters getting a chance. I’d like to see more of Djed Spence in defence and it would be nice for Archie Gray to establish a position he can remain in.

The activity in this transfer window could make or break his season; targets depend on who leaves (Cristian Romero, Richarlison?) and who Frank might bring in from Brentford (Nathan Collins?).

Frank has made a name for himself as a manager that is extremely personable with his players.

During his time at Brentford, he built strong relationships and socialised with his players and staff – sharing his love of padel – and has been praised regularly for his motivational skills.

Andreas Bjelland who played under Frank when he was a coach at Ljungby and again at Brentford told BBC Sport: “He’s just an all round good guy.

“He always took notice of how you were feeling, how it was going at home. He thought about everything, not only the player but the person outside of football as well.

“I remember when he came to England he tried to develop the culture he has – it was a long progress. But as a human because he understands people – he was good at taking it step-by-step. He did it in a clever way.

“The learning and understanding he gave me is that everything on the pitch is working better if things outside the pitch at home is working then you are a better football player as well.”

Frank has been described as the opposite of Postecoglou for his adaptability on the field but while that may be the case, the Australian remained a popular figure within the Spurs squad off of it.

It may not have been the decision that some would have wanted but Bjelland has urged the Tottenham players to seize everything the Dane has to offer, including his hair, when they meet for the first time.

“Embrace his long hair,” he joked. “Embrace the person he is and the person he is and the human being that really cares about you and take that in and you can learn a lot from him on and off the pitch.

“You have to buy in as a player on the project and the main thing is to trust the process, trust his way of doing it and I think he can do some big things there.

“Hopefully with the signing of him they also give him a little bit of time. I know it has to go fast because they need to have a much better season in the Premier League, but hopefully they will give him a little bit.

When he was appointed Brentford head coach in October 2018, Frank lost eight of his opening 10 games.

His ideas took a while to bed themselves in but once they did, there was no looking back for the Bees.

“In the Premier League, managers tend to fall into two categories – stubbornly following their own philosophy or being tactically flexible adapting to opponents,” said football tactics writer Dharnish Iqbal.

“Frank falls into the latter, a complete contrast to Postecoglou. Brentford were always one of the toughest teams because of their adaption in games and ability to be successful despite losing big players like Ollie Watkins, Christian Eriksen and Ivan Toney.

“With Toney up front, Brentford would use direct balls over the top for quick progression, something Dominic Solanke could benefit from at Spurs.”

In 2024-25, following the departure of Toney, Frank had to adapt his style again.

Brentford lost five of their opening 10 matches, all of which came away from home. What it once again highlighted, however, was the Dane’s adaptability and the fact that a little patience may be needed in the early days at Spurs.

“Once Toney left, Frank quickly changed things to utilise scoring from kick-offs a remarkable amount of times,” Iqbal added. “Toney’s exit also led to the brilliant Bryan Mbeumo-Yoane Wissa partnership.

“Using seven different formations in the league last season, it meant Brentford counter-pressed when they needed to or fell into a mid-block to hit teams on the break.

“As we saw in the Europa League final, when Postecoglou switched to a more pragmatic style it paid off when it mattered most.

After seven successful years with Brentford, Thomas Frank opted to swap west London for north London when he signed a deal to become Tottenham Hotspur’s new boss.

The 51-year-old Dane replaced Ange Postecoglou who was sacked despite leading Spurs to their first major trophy in 17 years.

Frank was the second-longest-serving manager in the Premier League while with the Bees, behind only Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola.

Since he took charge at Brentford in 2018, Spurs have had five different permanent managers with Frank becoming the sixth.

Sami Mokbel, Senior football correspondent

Prior to Postecoglou’s exit, Tottenham were focussed on adding greater experience to their young squad.

Among the attractions to Frank for Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was the Dane’s long-standing relationship with technical director Johan Lange.

The pair, according to sources, hold a similar view as to the profile of player required to take this team forward.

“There’s a synergy there,” said one well-placed insider.

That bodes well ahead of what will be a pivotal summer for the club.

Among the positions the club are looking to add experience is in central midfield and at centre-back given the interest from Spain in Cristian Romero, though as of yet no rival clubs have shown an indication that they are willing to match his £70million asking price.

Spurs tried and failed to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi in the summer but remain interested, though the England centre-back has options elsewhere.

Likewise, with captain Heung-min Son a target for Saudi clubs – Tottenham are closely monitoring the forward market. Intriguingly, Spurs are linked with Manchester United target Bryan Mbeumo – a key player for Frank at Brentford.

They have been interested in Crystal Palace and England attacker Eberechi Eze, who has a £68million release clause.

Tottenham are understood to be exploring whether to keep loanee Mathys Tel at the club in some capacity next season.

The club’s qualification for the Champions League should ensure a more substantial budget for Spurs to utilise in the summer market.

But there is a growing sense that owners, the ENIC Group, are taking a greater interest over the club’s operations; with that in mind it will be interesting to see how that focus impacts expenditure.

Like at most clubs, the structuring of transfers will be a key element of how freely Spurs can operate this summer given instalments for previous deals are due this summer.

There will certainly be moves to sell players, too. In addition to the uncertainty surrounding Romero and Son, midfielder Yves Bissouma’s future needs to be resolved this summer with his contract due to expire next year.

BBC Sport Tottenham fan contributor, Anna Howells (Spurs XY)

Like any manager who’s come into Spurs recently, Frank will have to focus on creating a squad that he can work with efficiently and effectively.

What will be unique for Frank is that he’s coming into a dressing room full of Europa League winners, who all spoke fondly of his predecessor. Getting the backing of players, fans and the board surely have to be his priorities.

In terms of expectations, in some ways it will be hard to top lifting a trophy, however having an improved Premier League season and finishing position is the bare minimum.

Being in the Champions League will have its challenges I’m sure, but a decent cup run and a high enough finish in the league would be a decent first season. We definitely need to be winning more games at home, that’s a non-negotiable.

As a fan, I would like to see more of the squad being used, I would like to see more youngsters getting a chance. I’d like to see more of Djed Spence in defence and it would be nice for Archie Gray to establish a position he can remain in.

The activity in this transfer window could make or break his season; targets depend on who leaves (Cristian Romero, Richarlison?) and who Frank might bring in from Brentford (Nathan Collins?).

Frank has made a name for himself as a manager that is extremely personable with his players.

During his time at Brentford, he built strong relationships and socialised with his players and staff – sharing his love of padel – and has been praised regularly for his motivational skills.

Andreas Bjelland who played under Frank when he was a coach at Ljungby and again at Brentford told BBC Sport: “He’s just an all round good guy.

“He always took notice of how you were feeling, how it was going at home. He thought about everything, not only the player but the person outside of football as well.

“I remember when he came to England he tried to develop the culture he has – it was a long progress. But as a human because he understands people – he was good at taking it step-by-step. He did it in a clever way.

“The learning and understanding he gave me is that everything on the pitch is working better if things outside the pitch at home is working then you are a better football player as well.”

Frank has been described as the opposite of Postecoglou for his adaptability on the field but while that may be the case, the Australian remained a popular figure within the Spurs squad off of it.

It may not have been the decision that some would have wanted but Bjelland has urged the Tottenham players to seize everything the Dane has to offer, including his hair, when they meet for the first time.

“Embrace his long hair,” he joked. “Embrace the person he is and the person he is and the human being that really cares about you and take that in and you can learn a lot from him on and off the pitch.

“You have to buy in as a player on the project and the main thing is to trust the process, trust his way of doing it and I think he can do some big things there.

“Hopefully with the signing of him they also give him a little bit of time. I know it has to go fast because they need to have a much better season in the Premier League, but hopefully they will give him a little bit.

When he was appointed Brentford head coach in October 2018, Frank lost eight of his opening 10 games.

His ideas took a while to bed themselves in but once they did, there was no looking back for the Bees.

“In the Premier League, managers tend to fall into two categories – stubbornly following their own philosophy or being tactically flexible adapting to opponents,” said football tactics writer Dharnish Iqbal.

“Frank falls into the latter, a complete contrast to Postecoglou. Brentford were always one of the toughest teams because of their adaption in games and ability to be successful despite losing big players like Ollie Watkins, Christian Eriksen and Ivan Toney.

“With Toney up front, Brentford would use direct balls over the top for quick progression, something Dominic Solanke could benefit from at Spurs.”

In 2024-25, following the departure of Toney, Frank had to adapt his style again.

Brentford lost five of their opening 10 matches, all of which came away from home. What it once again highlighted, however, was the Dane’s adaptability and the fact that a little patience may be needed in the early days at Spurs.

“Once Toney left, Frank quickly changed things to utilise scoring from kick-offs a remarkable amount of times,” Iqbal added. “Toney’s exit also led to the brilliant Bryan Mbeumo-Yoane Wissa partnership.

“Using seven different formations in the league last season, it meant Brentford counter-pressed when they needed to or fell into a mid-block to hit teams on the break.

“As we saw in the Europa League final, when Postecoglou switched to a more pragmatic style it paid off when it mattered most.

England have recalled left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone for their five-match T20 series against India.

It was announced last Saturday that Ecclestone, 26, would be taking a break from domestic cricket to “prioritise her wellbeing” and recover from a quad injury, but England hoped she would return for the first game against India from 28 June.

The Lancashire bowler missed England’s dominant T20 and ODI series wins over West Indies in May and early June as she recovered from a knee injury sustained at the Women’s Premier League in India in February.

She played two one-day matches and six T20s for Lancashire before picking up the quad injury and taking the break.

The India series, which sees three one-day internationals follow the T20s, will be the first time Ecclestone has represented England since January’s 16-0 Ashes defeat in Australia.

During that series Ecclestone refused to take part in a TV interview conducted by former team-mate Alex Hartley, following her criticism of England’s fitness during the T20 World Cup in November.

England head coach Charlotte Edwards said: “It’s great to have Soph back, and we’re looking forward to having her back in the group. She has obvious qualities and she’ll be an asset to us.

“It does mean Sarah Glenn misses out, we are blessed with a strong group of spinners and we unfortunately can’t play them all.

“It’s now a great opportunity for Sarah to go back to The Blaze and play some competitive cricket in the Vitality Blast.”

June

28: 1st T20 international, Trent Bridge (14:30 BST)

July

1: 2nd T20 international, Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol (d/n) (18:30 BST)

4: 3rd T20 international, The Kia Oval (d/n) (18:35 BST)

9: 4th T20 international, Emirates Old Trafford (d/n) (18:30 BST)

12: 5th T20 international, Edgbaston (d/n) (18:35 BST)

16: 1st ODI, Utilita Bowl, Southampton (d/n) (13:00 BST)

19: 2nd ODI, Lord’s (11:00 BST)