Thomas Frank has quickly emerged as Tottenham’s top target to replace Ange Postecoglou, but their pursuit of the Brentford boss could be more difficult than anticipated
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will have to pay the full £10m to land top managerial target Thomas Frank. It remains unusual for a club to have to pay a player-style transfer fee but Brentford inserted the buy-out clause which starts at £10m for their highly-rated manager.
Chelsea set a Premier League record when they paid £21m compensation to land Graham Potter from Brighton in 2022. But, despite clubs routinely spending big on players, they are always reluctant to land arguably the most important employee of all: the manager.
Brentford have no reason to compromise on the figure while Frank also shook hands on staying for another year but that agreement would disappear if the fee is met in full. Levy has a reputation for driving a hard bargain but is unlikely to get any wriggle room this time.
Tottenham have had a major clear out after sacking Ange Postecoglou on Friday, including the Aussie’s backroom staff while there has been a cull on members of the club hierarchy.
Technical director Johan Lange has been a notable survivor – and that is because he has strong links and a good relationship to fellow Dane Frank. It is now on Lange to land Frank as he has championed the Brentford boss to Levy and other members of the Tottenham board.
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Tottenham have yet to make a formal approach for Frank and other options remain a possibility, including Fulham boss Marco Silva whose buy-out is less – around £6m – and he also only has one year left on his deal at Craven Cottage.
But Frank is their No1 and, while nothing is imminent, Tottenham are likely to step up their pursuit in the coming days. They see him as an ideal candidate for his style of football, he builds and improves players and will also have to scope to improve the squad ahead of a return to the Champions League.
Frank is clearly interested in the potential switch having done a superb job at Brentford but his current club also want to keep him and would love him to stay. Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has already ruled himself out of the running, stressing his commitment to current job with the United States.
Pochettino remains a huge fan favourite but there is no chance of him coming back to the club which he led to the Champions League final in 2019.
Pochettino said: “Today it’s not realistic. Look where I am. Look where we (his backroom staff) are. The answer is so clear. I think, since I left in 2019, my name has always been on the list [of rumours].
“I’ve seen the rumours, we are 100 coaches on the list. Don’t be worried about that. If something happens [in the future], you for sure will see, but I am so happy in this moment and we cannot talk about this type of thing.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham have exercised the option to extend veteran defender Ben Davies’ contract by another 12 months. Davies, who is 32 and is Spurs’ longest-serving player after joining from Swansea City in 2014, will stay at Spurs until at least 2026 and is hoping to reach the World Cup with Wales.
Versatile defender Davies has made 358 appearances in all competitions for Spurs, scoring nine goals and captaining the team 13 times. He is currently with the Wales squad preparing for Monday’s World Cup qualifier in Belgium.
Davies has regularly worn the captain’s armband for his country in the absence of injured midfielder Aaron Ramsey and led Wales to a 3-0 win over Liechtenstein on Friday.
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