Thomas Frank's anticipated move to become Tottenham Hotspur manager will step up the alert level on his Brentford defender Nathan Collins too.
It is claimed that Frank would like to take the Stoke City youth graduate to Spurs with him, as well as his Manchester United-linked teammate Bryan Mbeumo, in a deal that would cost a pretty penny. Collins, aged 24, still has four years left on his Brentford contract, with a club option for an additional two years beyond that.
Brentford would "demand a significant return", claims the London press, on the club record £22 million they spent to sign Collins from Wolves two years ago - and Wolves' ears will have pricked up because they agreed a sell-on clause as part of that deal. Stoke had a similar benefit when Burnley sold him to Wolves in 2022.
Collins has established himself as a Premier League and Republic of Ireland regular and he played every minute of Brentford's league campaign under Frank in 2024/25, topping the top flight statistics for most blocks by a centre-back (57), coming second (220) to Nottingham Forest's Murillo (242) for most clearances and joint-second with Virgil van Dijk (119) behind Dan Burn (148) for most aerials won.
The coaches who guided him through the ranks at Stoke will be frustrated that he isn't hitting those numbers in the right red and white stripes but he is still flying the flag for the academy. Freddie Anderson explained earlier this season how he was persuaded that Stoke was the right move for him after leaving Manchester City after being shown how Collins developed at Clayton Wood, as well as Harry Souttar.
It is work that has helped Stoke build up a little conveyor belt of very promising young centre-halves, including Jaden Dixon, Jake Griffin, Pijus Otegbayo and Owen Powell.
Collins hasn't forgotten that groundwork either. He joined Stoke at 15 from Cherry Orchard, who had a sell-on clause activated when he later joined Burnley for an initial £12m. There had been strong interest from Ipswich but he ran out for Stoke under-16s against Liverpool in January 2016.
He went on to play above his age group. He captained the under-18s and under-23s - and played in that surreal, frenzied Potteries derby when Stoke under-21s lost to Port Vale at Vale Park in the Checkatrade Trophy.
Academy director Gareth Owen said around that time: “It’s not purely his footballing ability but also off the field; his confidence in himself, his sacrifice and how he lives his life, how he is a leader, a communicator, how other players respect him.
“These are all old school values that can quickly be forgotten – but they are what make a player. He is doing everything he can to make himself better and that, matched with a fantastic football ability, means that he’s got a hell of a chance.”
At 17 in April 2019, he made his first team bow when Stoke had two men sent off at Swansea and his first start came 10 days later at Middlesbrough He became Stoke's youngest captain at the age of 18 years and 105 days when Nathan Jones gave him the armband for a Carabao Cup tie at Wigan in 2019. He has continue to be picked out as a leader for clubs and country.
He said earlier this year: “I always try to pick things from different captains I’ve had in my life. I’ve had some unbelievable captains. I think it’s different for everyone because we are all in different positions. I had Ryan Shawcross at Stoke and I had Ben Mee and he’s a legend."
They are qualities that have made him a key man for Frank and explain the current links - even if, this week, the talk from the Brentford end has still been about still hoping to keep Frank, let alone the player. But, Collins said himself, there will be a contingency plan.
Collins told the Irish media: "Every time I turn on the TV, I see (Frank to Spurs speculation). I can’t get away from it, unfortunately.
“But I have my own problems with the (international fixtures), staying fit and looking after myself. I haven’t taken too much of an interest.”
He added: "Brentford is a good club that whatever happens, they will have a plan. There are good people in the back room plan, so there will be a plan. If he stays, even better. We can only see what happens.”
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