Tottenham Hotspur is close to appointing Thomas Frank as its new manager after parting ways with Ange Postecoglou last week.
Spurs, who considered Arne Slot as a replacement for Antonio Conte in 2023, took the decision to move on from Postecoglou despite the club's victory in the Europa League final last month, as the Australian ultimately paid the price for the team's dismal Premier League campaign.
Tottenham finished in 17th place in the league after losing 22 of its 38 games, and in several previous Premier League seasons, the 38 points that the team accumulated would not have been enough to save the club from relegation to the second tier.
Relegation would have have been humiliating for a club of Tottenham's stature, and the North London outfit hopes Frank will bring more stability to the team.
In Frank, Tottenham is getting a manager who has been highly regarded in England for several years due to his exploits with West London club Brentford.
Frank has been at Brentford since 2018, and in 2021 the club achieved promotion to the Premier League. Frank helped to establish Brentford as a top-flight club, securing two top-half finishes during his four seasons in charge.
After a game between Liverpool and Brentford during the 2023-24 season, Frank drew praise from then Reds boss Jurgen Klopp — despite Liverpool winning 3-0.
"More than 20 years ago when I started my career, I wanted to create a team that nobody wants to play against and we faced that team today," Klopp said after the game at Anfield.
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"It's crazy! This spell where they had six corners in a row I thought 'oh god.' But we defended with so much passion in the moment. The goals we scored were fantastic."
Klopp's successor, Arne Slot, also had some kind words to say about Frank this season. After Frank described Liverpool as "the best team in the world" in January, Slot said: "His (Frank's) opinion means something to me because he has shown at Brentford how well he has done for so many years without spending crazy amounts of money."
Slot also showered the axed Postecoglou with praise ahead of Liverpool's Carabao Cup semi-final meeting with Tottenham earlier this year.
“They (Tottenham) have always been a certain brand of football for me and have a certain identity," Slot said. "I think Ange Postecoglou gives them that identity back completely. Ange is doing great work over there. I hope this is seen a bit more. I also hope, hope, hope that he wins a trophy.