Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has not met expectations so far at the helm of the club, though while there have been more disappointing defeats than impressive highs, there have been enough signs for the Spurs upper management to feel that Frank is worth believing in.
Regardless of what happens to Frank, Spurs supporters would like to see a stronger squad for any manager to work with going forward. Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus were very positive long term attacking additions to Tottenham in the summer transfer window, but anyone who thinks they were sufficient upgrades for a team that finished 17th in the Premier League in the 2024/25 campaign was seriously deluded.
Spurs have a talent problem in their squad that has been there for years, but it is not just born out of not signing the right players. It has also been created by not selling the right players at the right time to get underperforming players out of the squad and maximize the revenue coming into sign better footballers.
Thomas Frank knows it's a problem
Thankfully, Thomas Frank seems to understand that this is a major issue facing Tottenham Hotspur, and ahead of both the January transfer window and his second battle against old employers Brentford, Frank called out this issue directly to the press.
Frank said, via The Spurs Express, "I think that’s key. It’s not only doing one thing right, playing a specific way or getting the culture right or whatever, there’s a lot of elements that we need to do well to be able to compete at the highest level. Part of it is being able to sell. You see the other top clubs, they are quite good at selling. That’s something we need to be improving. That’s something I know the guys above me are working very hard on. Everything’s linked."
In Frank's first summer transfer window, Tottenham management already held him back by not making any big sales. While they were somehow able to finally offload Bryan Gil, there were many more footballers who have no future at Spurs whom the club were unable to offload. Manor Solomon, Yves Bissouma, Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies, Brennan Johnson, Richarlison, and Rodrigo Bentancur are among the underperformers who could have been sold but were not.
So Spurs have to take a step in the right direction and let go of Solomon, Bissouma, Dragusin, Davies, and Johnson this winter if at all possible. With all the transfer rumors surrounding Dragusin and Johnson thus far, it looks like Spurs may finally be learning their lesson.