Tottenham hire Brentford's Frank as new manager
LONDON - Tottenham hired Brentford's Thomas Frank as their new manager on Thursday as the Dane replaced the sacked Ange Postecoglou.
Frank agreed a three-year contract with Tottenham and becomes the north London club's fourth permanent boss since June 2021.
"We are delighted to announce the appointment of Thomas Frank as our new head coach on a contract that runs until 2028," a Tottenham statement said.
"In Thomas we are appointing one of the most progressive and innovative head coaches within the game.
"He has a proven track record in player and squad development and we look forward to him leading the team as we prepare for the season ahead."
Tottenham set their sights on Frank after chairman Daniel Levy axed Postecoglou last week, just 16 days after he won the Europa League final against Manchester United to end the club's 17-year trophy drought.
Frank is the 14th permanent manager of Levy's 24-year tenure.
Levy made an official approach to Brentford earlier this week, with the deal concluded after Tottenham agreed to allow the Dane to hire his Bees assistant coach Justin Cochrane.
Frank's Brentford contract was set to run until 2027, with a reported release clause of about £10 million ($13.6 million).
The 51-year-old led Brentford back to the top flight in 2021 after an absence of 74 years and has established the west London club in the Premier League.
Now he will be tasked with lifting Tottenham back among the Premier League's elite.
Tottenham will play in the Champions League next season thanks to their Europa League success in Bilbao, where they beat Manchester United 1-0.
However, Postecoglou paid the price for a miserable Premier League season as Tottenham finished 17th after losing 22 of their 38 games.
Frank began his coaching career in the youth set-up of the Danish national team before a three-year stint at Brondby.
He initially joined Brentford as an assistant coach before stepping to replace Dean Smith, when he left to join Aston Villa.
After losing out in the 2020 Championship play-off final, Brentford bounced back to win promotion through the play-offs a year later.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
4 hours ago
- IOL News
Liverpool bank on 'world-class' Wirtz after record deal
Here we go Germn midfielder Florian Wirtz is set to complete a move to Liverpool in the Premier League. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP Image: Franck Fife/AFP The golden boy of German football is set to become the new prince of the Premier League as Florian Wirtz prepares to join Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record fee. Fresh from winning a 20th English top-flight title, Arne Slot's Reds have broken the bank to land a rising star already labelled as one of the world's best by former Reds midfielder and Wirtz's former coach Xabi Alonso. British media reported on Friday that the Premier League champions had agreed a club-record deal worth up to £116 million ($157 million) to secure the services of the attacking midfielder. Liverpool can now agree personal terms with a player coveted by a number of top European clubs. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Wirtz's abundant potential as a teenager sparked a row between his hometown club Cologne and Leverkusen five years ago when Leverkusen, who are backed by pharmaceutical giants Bayer, swooped to sign him at 17. Cologne argued that a gentleman's agreement not to poach youth team players had been violated, but Leverkusen said Wirtz was a first-team signing and within months he had made his Bundesliga debut. His rise was interrupted by a cruciate knee ligament injury in March 2022 that forced him to miss the next 10 months. By the time he returned, Alonso had been installed as Leverkusen boss and together they would spearhead the club's greatest days. Leverkusen ended Bayern Munich's grip on the Bundesliga in stunning fashion, romping to the title and the German Cup without losing a single match in the 2023/24 season. Wirtz netted his first career hat-trick on the day the title was sealed against Werder Bremen, on his way to being crowned Bundesliga player of the year. "Flo is one of the top players in the world, he's world class," said Alonso, who compared his protege to Lionel Messi in terms of his understanding of the game. "Why is Messi so good? Because he knows how and when to play simple passes. Messi says: 'You're in a better position? Here, there you have the ball'," said Alonso, a hero of Liverpool's 2005 Champions League triumph. "It's not always about making the most brilliant move, but the best and smartest. Florian can do that. That's why he's so good." 'The full package' Both star player and coach committed to staying with the Leverkusen project for another 12 months, but defeat in the Europa League final to Atalanta to round off the 2023/24 campaign was a sign of things to come. Bayern restored their grip on the German game last season but could not convince Wirtz to follow the lead of many others in joining from their Bundesliga rivals. Instead, he made it clear his preference was a move to the Premier League champions and the chance to add his name to Liverpool's cast of legends. "A huge talent, huge future in front of him, so Liverpool is the place for him," said the club's former captain Steven Gerrard. Despite 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 games for Leverkusen, Wirtz will begin life at Anfield in the shadow of Mohamed Salah. But the Reds are banking on Wirtz's creativity to help maintain the 32-year-old's prolific goalscoring numbers and ease the burden of carrying the Liverpool attack. The club's previous record signing, £85 million recruit Darwin Nunez, has failed to deliver and could be sold to help recoup some of their major outlay on new faces. Liverpool will hope Wirtz can handle the pressure of his price tag and the physicality of the Premier League to ensure there is no second season slump under Slot. Former Germany head coach Hansi Flick is in no doubt about what the midfielder has to offer. "He's simply an outstanding technician, loves to play, is very creative, has a good shot, runs hard and is quick," he said. "He's the full package." AFP Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
eNCA
5 hours ago
- eNCA
Liverpool agree club-record deal to sign Wirtz
Liverpool have agreed a club-record deal worth up to £116 million ($157 million) to sign attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, it was widely reported on Friday. British media reported that the Premier League champions would pay an initial £100 million, comfortably surpassing their own record outlay, but the performance-related add-ons, if achieved, would make it a potential British record. Reports in Germany suggested the potential fee could rise to 150 million euros (£127 million, $172 million). Liverpool's total spend on the 22-year-old Germany international could surpass the £115 million Chelsea agreed to pay Brighton in 2023 for Moises Caicedo, who turned down Anfield. Midfielder Caicedo cost Chelsea an initial £100 million fee, which could rise to £115 million. Striker Darwin Nunez was Liverpool's previous record signing in 2022, although they have not paid the full £85 million as he has not met all the requirements for certain add-ons to be due. Manchester City had been keen on Wirtz but pulled out, reportedly due to the spiralling costs of the whole package. Wirtz has been hailed as one of the "best in the world" by former Bayer Leverkusen coach and ex-Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who is the new boss of Real Madrid. After largely keeping their powder dry in the transfer market during Arne Slot's first season in charge, the Reds are splashing out to strengthen a side that romped to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title. Wirtz's Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong has already joined Liverpool while a deal for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is understood to be well-advanced. Wirtz was played a crucial role in Leverkusen's greatest season as they claimed a first-ever Bundesliga title and the German Cup in 2023/24 without losing a single game under Alonso. Their only defeat that season, during which Wirtz was crowned Bundesliga player of the year, came in the Europa League final to Atalanta, denying the Werkself a memorable treble. AFP | Roberto Pfeil Bayern Munich restored their grip on the German game last season, with Leverkusen a distant second, and Wirtz is joining an exodus from the BayArena. Where Liverpool's record signing fits into Slot's plans remains to be seen. Wirtz largely played behind a central striker at Leverkusen and has operated from a wider role for Germany. A return of 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 games for Leverkusen is evidence that he carries a threat both as a creator and a goalscorer. Liverpool are already blessed with an abundance of forward options, with Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo all offering a goal threat. However, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa now face even stiffer competition and Liverpool might sell to free up further transfer resources, with suggestions they could sign a specialist striker. jw-kca/mw
The South African
7 hours ago
- The South African
Transfer news: Liverpool shell out club record R2.8 billion for Florian Wirtz
Liverpool have agreed a club-record deal worth up to £116 million (R2.8 billion) to sign attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, it was widely reported on Friday. British media reported that the Premier League champions would pay an initial £100 million, comfortably surpassing their own record outlay, but the performance-related add-ons, if achieved, would make it a potential British record. Reports in Germany suggested the potential fee could rise to £127 million. Liverpool's total spend on the 22-year-old Germany international could surpass the £115 million Chelsea agreed to pay Brighton in 2023 for Moises Caicedo, who turned down Anfield. Midfielder Caicedo cost Chelsea an initial £100 million fee, which could rise to £115 million. Striker Darwin Nunez was Liverpool's previous record signing in 2022, although they have not paid the full £85 million as he has not met all the requirements for certain add-ons to be due. Manchester City had been keen on Wirtz but pulled out, reportedly due to the spiralling costs of the whole package. Wirtz has been hailed as one of the 'best in the world' by former Bayer Leverkusen coach and ex-Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who is the new boss of Real Madrid. After largely keeping their powder dry in the transfer market during Arne Slot's first season in charge, the Reds are splashing out to strengthen a side that romped to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title. Wirtz's Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong has already joined Liverpool while a deal for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is understood to be well-advanced. Wirtz was played a crucial role in Leverkusen's greatest season as they claimed a first-ever Bundesliga title and the German Cup in 2023/24 without losing a single game under Alonso. Their only defeat that season, during which Wirtz was crowned Bundesliga player of the year, came in the Europa League final to Atalanta, denying the Werkself a memorable treble. Bayern Munich restored their grip on the German game last season, with Leverkusen a distant second, and Wirtz is joining an exodus from the BayArena. Where Liverpool's record signing fits into Slot's plans remains to be seen. Wirtz largely played behind a central striker at Leverkusen and has operated from a wider role for Germany. A return of 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 games for Leverkusen is evidence that he carries a threat both as a creator and a goalscorer. Liverpool are already blessed with an abundance of forward options, with Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo all offering a goal threat. However, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa now face even stiffer competition and Liverpool might sell to free up further transfer resources, with suggestions they could sign a specialist striker. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news. By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
