Tottenham Hotspur supporters were stunned when the club announced that they were firing manager Ange Postecoglou on Friday night, as they had waited weeks to make a decision on the Europa League-winning coach, only to fire him anyway.
It was immediately obvious to Tottenham fans that Thomas Frank would be the pick to replace BIg Ange, and, indeed, the Brentford manager is close to sealing a transfer to N17, and while he is expected to try and bring Brentford stars like Bryan Mbeumo and Nathan Collins with him, the main task will be for Frank to get the most out of players currently at the club.
Back at Brentford, Frank did try to sign a couple of young gems for the Bees, but Tottenham simply outflexed them on the transfer market. Those two players are right winger Brennan Johnson, the goal-scoring hero of the Europa League Final, and 2024 center midfield signing Archie Gray from Leeds United.
Johnson and Gray are the most obvious candidates for improvement under Frank. They are young, raw talents, and while Gray has yet to show what he can do for Tottenham, the 19-year-old defensive midfielder didn't get much momentum in the same position in the starting lineup last season; Postecoglou often played him out of position at center back, where he was overwhelmed.
Brennan Johnson can break out under Thomas Frank
Next season under Frank, Gray will get more opportunities to shine as a midfielder. Frank is more judicious about how he uses his 6's and 8's, so Gray won't be as hung out to dry in transitions and will get more opportunities to show his footballing brain off and progressive passing in the Frank scheme.
Johnson, meanwhile, has even more upside. The Welshman was the team's leading goal-scorer in the Premier League last season, finding the back of the net 11 times. He's so good at being in the right place at the right time, and while the 24-year-old has often struggled to do all the other things a winger should, he did recently show Frank a more well-rounded display in Wales's match against Belgium. Johnson is 100 percent one to watch.
Finally, striker Dominic Solanke is a player who could see a marked improvement in his second year with Spurs, especially with Frank at the helm. Frank has turned forwards like Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo, and Ivan Toney before them into literally the most productive players in the Premier League. A former top prospect for Chelsea and Liverpool before blooming late in the Premier League at Bournemouth, Solanke has even more technical talent and raw athletic ability than those guys.
Solanke didn't have the most productive season for Tottenham in 2024/25 despite the 65 million pound price tag, but he still scored nine Premier League goals and was as good as advertised all-around. Most importantly, Solanke stepped up for Spurs in the biggest games of the Europa League, and Frank has the tactical ideas to turn Solanke into a monster up top - an elite facilitator for the wingers who can also comfortably grab 15 goals of his own.