Sources: Tottenham join Liverpool in race to sign defender who Thomas Frank loves
Tottenham have joined Liverpool in the race to sign Brentford defender Nathan Collins with Thomas Frank known to be a keen admirer of his.
Nathan Collins has been a key man at the back for Brentford for the last two seasons since his 2023 move from Wolves.
Football Insider revealed in August that Brentford were likely to dig in and keep Collins amid interest from Liverpool, and they did just that as he remained in West London past the summer deadline.
Collins was appointed as Brentford’s new captain before the start of the 2025-26 campaign by compatriot Keith Andrews, so now wears the armband for both club and country at just 24-years-old.
Tottenham join Liverpool in Nathan Collins race with move mooted next summer
As I revealed on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Collins is being tracked by a whole host of top clubs following his strong Brentford showings.
The Irishman was taken to Brentford by Thomas Frank, and could well follow him to Tottenham soon as he eyes up a potential swoop in the near future.
Speaking on the Inside Track podcast about Spurs’ continued interest, I explained: “They [Brentford] don’t want to lose Nathan Collins. As you said, there was a bit of interest in the summer from Tottenham. Liverpool were mentioned as well as they were looking at a centre-back.
“If he continues to impress for Brentford and as he’s shown already at such a young age, he’s got those leadership qualities as well, being captain at the club, I’m sure there’ll be clubs monitoring the situation and maybe in the summertime there could be further interest in him.”
What Thomas Frank has said about Nathan Collins
Collins was also linked to Man United over the summer, but both Spurs and Liverpool are able to offer a better guarantee of European football.
The Irishman played 77 games under Frank in their two years with the Bees, and he previously praised Collins during their time working together, saying: “He’s a very talented centre-back and still young.
“He has a lot of very good abilities that we value a lot. He’s a composed and calm defender. His heading in both boxes is a big thing, both in open play and from set-pieces, which is massive in the Premier League.
“I also like his ability on the ball. He can carry the ball out of defence and also has the composure to find the right pass during build-up play. His character is really good, and we know that character is everything. I see leadership potential in Nathan.“
It is clear that Frank is a big fan of Collins’ abilities, but whether Tottenham will be able to convince him to move to North London instead of Liverpool remains unclear right now.
Football Insider recently revealed that Liverpool are planning to move for Marc Guehi in January following Giovanni Leoni’s injury, and that swoop may well clear the path for Spurs to complete a deal for Collins.