How much money Thomas Frank cost Tottenham amid Birmingham City link | OneFootball

FLW understand the Dane is a potential managerial target for Blues should they part ways with Chris Davies

Birmingham City's first season back in the Championship has ultimately been one of frustration, as they are set to end the 2025/26 campaign in mid-table.

Having coasted to the League One title last season, plenty was expected of Blues and manager, Chris Davies, this year, particularly when the club continued to conduct an eye-catching transfer window in the summer, before doing exactly the same in January as the playing squad at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park was reshuffled.

With just three matches to go in the Championship, the West Midlands outfit are stationed in 14th position at present, having taken four points from their two most recent outings against play-off hopefuls Wrexham and Hull City, as they earned a credible 1-1 draw at the MKM Stadium through Tomoki Iwata's late thunderbolt.

That said, it has remained to be seen for some time whether Davies will be the man leading the next phase of Birmingham's 'project' under their ambitious American investors, Knighthead Capital Management, with plenty of supporters far from pleased with how the current campaign has fizzled out in recent weeks.

Given the spotlight on the club, the 41-year-old's position has been under scrutiny at various points of the season, but he has retained the full support and confidence of Tom Wagner.

But, in a fresh turn of events, Football League World understand that, should Davies be relieved of his duties in B9 ahead of a critical pre-season, a shock move for ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss, Thomas Frank, could be in the pipeline.

The Dane, of course, endured a rather miserable time in North London and is now out of work, having cost Spurs a fair amount of money throughout his eight-month tenure.

How much money Tottenham Hotspur spent on Thomas Frank as Birmingham City eye surprise managerial move

The 52-year-old, of course, is no stranger to the Championship as well as the Premier League, having previously spent almost seven years in charge of Brentford, who he achieved promotion with through the play-offs in 2020/21, before establishing the Bees as a top-flight side for the first time in decades.

Unsurprisingly, such an upward trajectory caught the eye of last season's UEFA Europa League winners, who paid their London rivals a sizeable £10m compensation fee when handing Frank a three-year contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last June in place of the departed Ange Postecoglou.

It would prove to be a disastrous move all round, though, as the Dane won just 13 of his 38 matches across all competitions, with five of those coming in the UEFA Champions League.

Spurs then ended his short-lived reign with a run of eight games without a win in the Premier League, and Frank was dismissed after a 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle United on February 10th.

It was then revealed that he would receive a year's worth of compensation based on earnings, which equated to £8m, having collected a reported monthly wage figure of £650,000 a month in North London, meaning Tottenham had spent in excess of £23m on his services in said timeframe.

Thomas Frank appointment would be a statement of intent from Birmingham City

Given Blues' well-documented ambitions, going in search of Frank as a potential successor for Davies would send out a statement heading into next season in a division which could still well include his former club, Spurs, as they are fully immersed in the relegation battle.

It would be intriguing to see if Frank saw a potential drop back down to the EFL as a viable option from his own perspective, even if Birmingham have their sights set on a short-term return to the top-flight ahead of the opening of the Powerhouse stadium in four years time.

Looking at the aforementioned figures from Frank's time in North London, it certainly wouldn't be a cheap option for Knighthead, but it is one which could pay off when taking his overall record, particularly with Brentford, into consideration.