Three Tottenham stars who could massively improve under Thomas Frank

The first thing about Thomas Frank is that he does not rely on flashy individualism but instead bags on two-way discipline and vertical transitions, and this is where Solomon’s ability can be utilised.

The Israeli is one of the few players at Tottenham who has that genuine stride when he takes his dribbles, especially in 1v1s, which is very reminiscent of how Pedro Neto and Gabriel Martinelli of Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively, take on their markers. Solomon hugs the touchline and then cuts in quite aggressively.

Manor Solomon warrants a second chance, and this isn’t a sentimental choice; it makes more structural sense. The thing is that he is built for a system where directness and dependability are valued much more than flair.

See, the thing is that the Dane head coach thrives having technically intelligent and quick wide players in his roster, especially the ones that don’t rely purely on physical traits. As we saw with Brentford, given how he used players like Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade to take advantage of their vertical width and try to create separation through structured patterns to hand them an advantage.

With Solomon, especially when the Israeli is fit, he is agile and has that two-footed ability given how he carries the ball well into dangerous zones.

Richarlison

We all know that the Brazilian’s game is more chaotic, complemented by the pressing intensity that he boasts and that positional disruption ability, but the thing is, when he used to feature under Ange Postecoglou, he was often caught between roles, and when played in a role, it lacked consistency. So under Thomas Frank, what I am expecting is that the Dane coach who loves these high-pressing and relentless forwards (like Toney) would get the best out of Richy. Maybe the former Everton star, given his defensive work rate and physicality, could be remoulded into an efficient second striker or pressing #9.

Playing in the centre forward role with either Tel or Solanke in a 3-5-2 could take Richy a long way. Moreover, you can also play him as a left-sided forward drifting in to attack the box (much like how Frank used Mbeumo from the right at Brentford).

See, Thomas Frank is really good at rebuilding the confidence of players, and the Dane can, in fact, tailor a set of his offensive sequences in a way that complements the work rate and instinct that the Brazilian international brings to the table at N17.

I think under the Dane head coach, Richarlison can thrive in that second striker role given all the attention will be taken away from him.

Mathys Tel

While Tottenham signed the French sensation on loan from Bayern Munich in January, we only saw glimpses of brilliance from him (in a sense, I will call it more of raw explosiveness). Tel has got massive potential, but the thing is that he is very raw, and now playing under a coach who has honed Ivan Toney’s all-round game and made Wissa/Mbeumo into a consistent threat in the English top tier, the former Bayern ace’s ceiling could be unlocked at Tottenham.

The thing is, we all know that Tel loves to play in chaotic sequences, but now with Thomas Frank, he will add a sense of positional structure to his game and end up working on getting his off-ball movements right while teaching him how to make decisions in low-tempo possession phases.

Frank loves raw players, as we have seen him develop a lot of raw talent at Brentford, and perhaps Tel could be his greatest Tottenham asset, especially if the Frenchman comes into his potential.