What do Spurs and Thomas Frank need to do this summer? | OneFootball

Not only does Tottenham’s Europa League victory end a 17-year trophy drought, but it also represents an opportunity for the club to kick on and compete for more silverware next season.

After finishing 17th in the Premier League last season, Spurs’ season was only partially salvaged by winning the Europa League final in Bilbao, and Ange Postecoglou paid the price by being sacked.

Thomas Frank has come across London from Brentford and faces the dual challenge of taking Tottenham back to the higher reaches of the Premier League while competing in the expanded Champions League.

Postecolgou made the point in his final press conference that Spurs need a deeper squad with more experience at the highest level if they are to compete on two fronts.

They have already turned Mathys Tel’s loan from Bayern Munich into a permanent transfer, for £30m and done a similar conversion on Kevin Danson’s loan from Lens for £21m. Promising teenage centre-back Luka Vuskovic will finally join from Hajduk Split for £9.2m, but what else should Tottenham and Frank do this summer?

An experienced midfielder is a must

Despite Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma stepping up with better performances towards the latter stages of the Europa League, their form throughout the campaign was not good enough and Tottenham’s midfield was a weak point, too easy to play through, and lacking penetration at times.

Bentancur’s contract expires in 2026 and Bissouma’s a year later, and Spurs could look to cash in one or other in order to upgrade with a proven, box-to-box midfielder.

In terms of creativity, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have plenty but missed the end of the season with injuries that will mean they will not be ready to go in August. Lucas Bergvall was voted player of the year, but like Archie Gray, is only 19, and Frank will want more experience in that area, especially in Europe.

Support for Solanke

Dominic Solanke did a sterling job as a hard-working and often isolated number nine, finishing his first season at Spurs with a respectable tally of 16 goals and eight assists, but he clearly needs back-up. The only other experienced central striker is Richarlison, who was injured for much of the season, and may yet be sold this summer. So Spurs really need to sign a solid centre-forward who can carry the load and fill in for Solanke when the England man is rested or injured, as he was for a spell last year (who wasn’t?)

Defensive cover

Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are an imperious partnership when they play together, but they have not done that often enough in either of the past two seasons.

The Argentine missed 26 games last season whilst the Dutchman missed 27 games and Tottenham struggled in defence without them. Danso and Radu Dragusin are experienced back-ups, but Dragusin missed most of the campaign with an ACL injury. If Vuskovic looks ready to step straight in, Frank may decide he can do without the error-prone Dragusin, and there have long been rumours that Romero fancies a move to Atletico Madrid, which would bring in valuable funds for the Spurs rebuild.

Another left-back would be handy, with Sergio Regulon gone and Ben Davies out of contract.

An experienced goalscoring winger

Spurs have plenty of wide players, but could do with more experience and goal power. Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel and Mikey Moore are still young and rarely score goals, and although Brennan Johnson ended the season as top scorer, with that winner in the Europa League final taking his total to 18 goals, his position on the right wing would be under threat if Tottenham were to sign Bryan Mbeumo.

Brentford are prepared to sell the Cameroon winger, but Manchester United have so far failed to match their £60m valuation and now Spurs are interested, especially as Frank and his fellow former Bees coach Justin Cochran played such a big part in Mbeumo’s development as a prolific wide-man.

Negotiations may hinge on whether Heung-min Son stays or goes, with Saudi Arabian clubs prepared to pay a big fee, but the South Korean captain wants to playing at the highest level in the build-up to next summer’s World Cup.

Manor Solomon returns from his productive loan spell in the Championship with Leeds United, but he is another player that Tottenham could cash in on.