Chelsea icon wowed by Thomas Frank at Tottenham in subtle swipe at Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham look incredibly strong this season and their form so far reflects the smart signings Thomas Frank made in the summer.
Amid claims that Tottenham’s owners could increase transfer budget by £50-100m, the work the club completed in the summer looks all the more impressive.
Michael Carrick was wowed by three Tottenham stars after their gritty 1-0 win over La Liga outfit Villarreal, and they now turn their attention back to the Premier League, where they face Brighton on Saturday.
Pedro Porro praised Tottenham’s resilience in the win over Villarreal, but the bigger positive is that the Lilywhites now have the squad depth to cope with playing in four competitions.
Tottenham look completely different to last season after summer overhaul
Speaking on Match of the Day, former Chelsea star and icon Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink praised Tottenham and Thomas Frank for their smart transfer work in the summer with a subtle dig at Ange Postecoglou.
Hasselbaink said: “He’s got options. He’s got technical options, he’s got runners, he’s got legs in the midfield, they are more solid, he’s more business-like.
“He’s keeping them hard to beat and from there, they go forward and they have creativity and they can break fast.
“They look a totally different team than they were, with all due respect to last year.”
Xavi Simons is one of the most exciting new Premier League signings
Before Liverpool signed Florian Wirtz, it always seemed like Xavi Simons would have made a good fit for their style of play.
For Tottenham to sign the young playmaker is an excellent, aggressive move. Last season, he scored 11 goals and provided eight assists for RB Leipzig. This season, he already has a goal and two assists.
To support Hasselbaink’s claim that Spurs are unrecognisable, Simons wasn’t as sharp against Villarreal as he was against West Ham. Thomas Frank needs to play Xavi Simons as a number 10; otherwise, he risks wasting his talents.
Yet, the manager was able to turn to other team members for inspiration.
Mohammed Kudus was fantastic on the right wing, driving Spurs forward despite aggressive pressure from the Villarreal players.
While Tottenham fans have seen enough false dawns to bide their time in celebrating this new era, it does seem as though things are different now.