Thomas Frank makes Tottenham transfer vow for final days of January window

In partnership with

Evening Standard

·23 January 2026

Thomas Frank makes Tottenham transfer vow for final days of January window

Business will only be coming one way as deadline day draws near

Thomas Frank has ruled out further Tottenham exits in January as injuries pile up for the north London club.

Spurs sanctioned the departure of last season’s top goalscorer, Brennan Johnson, at the start of the month, with the Welsh winger keen to play more minutes this season.

Johnson’s sale, in isolation, was not an issue, with Spurs securing £35million for a player who had fallen down the pecking order, as they looked to raise funds ahead of what was expected to be a busy January window.

However, after losing Mohammed Kudus, who had been keeping Johnson out of the team, to a long-term quad injury days after Johnson joined Crystal Palace, Spurs have been left struggling for options at right wing.

Frank’s side have continued to be ravaged by injuries, and have now lost a player to injury in each of their last five games in all competitions after Lucas Bergvall was ruled out for up to three months with an ankle injury picked up against Borussia Dortmund.

OneFootball Videos

“I would say it's fair to say that we are not that many players,” Frank acknowledged.

"The players we have in our squad, we need to keep to have enough players to perform with. In the Dortmund game, when we had not many available players, it’s difficult to change the game when you need it or to keep the freshness up."

Mathys Tel looks set to stay put, despite reportedly pushing for a loan exit this month after being omitted from the club’s Champions League squad for a second time, and Yves Bissouma is back in contention.

The midfielder has been out of the picture under Frank due to both discliplinary and injuries issues.

Spurs’ injury woes meant a fit-again Bissouma, who is out of contract in the summer, made his first appearance of the season off the bench against West Ham last weekend, and could feature again on Saturday when Spurs take on Burnley.

Bissouma had been expected to leave the club in January, with Spurs hoping to recoup some of the £30m fee they paid Brighton in 2022, but Frank was clear the 29-year-old would be going nowhere before the transfer deadline.

He continued: “Bissouma has a great top ceiling. I think his qualities we can all see, on the ball, really want the ball, constantly seeking it, looking forward, driving forward. Very good technical abilities. Physical stature.

“He's a strong player, so I agree. The best players, they can consistently perform, day in, day out, years over years. So that's what he needs to find.

“He's a Tottenham player. The only thing we're focussing on is he's available for Burnley on Saturday.”