The pressure cooker at Tottenham Hotspur is boiling over, and manager Thomas Frank has finally pulled back the curtain on a turbulent January transfer window, revealing a glaring miss and defending the club's strategy amidst mounting fan fury.
Key Takeaways from Frank's Press Conference:
- Spurs made significant efforts to sign Antoine Semenyo, but the winger ultimately joined Manchester City for £64.5m.
- Fans are planning protests against the board this Sunday, citing a lack of meaningful investment in the squad.
Frank speaks on transfer window
In his Friday press conference, Thomas Frank reflected on Tottenham’s January transfer window and shed light on the club’s attempts to sign Antoine Semenyo before the former Bournemouth winger ultimately moved to Manchester City for £64.5m ($88m).
So far this month, Spurs have completed two signings: midfielder Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid and teenage left-back Souza from Santos, with a combined cost of £48 million ($65m). Despite these additions, many fans feel the squad still has significant gaps. Tottenham currently sits 14th in the Premier League, just eight points above the relegation zone, prompting supporters to plan protests before and during Sunday’s match against Manchester City under the banner “it’s time to act.”
Frank on Spurs’ pursuit of Semenyo
Speaking to reporters, Frank said: "The club are working relentlessly to do what they can to improve the squad, especially Johan [Lange], Fabio [Paritici] and Vinai [Venkatesham] and all those behind them. We can't be obsessed with a short-term fix as we cannot limit what we do in the future."
"I can promise the Lewis family are super committed and there is no doubt the club is clear, I will break a rule, we wanted to sign Semenyo. They did everything – that is a big signing with finances and all that."
"So that's the quality of players we're looking for to improve the squad, and if we can't find that, then it's definitely better to take the right decisions."
"Not just saying we're just getting quality players going forward because we all know it's not that easy, and I'm sure, for whatever reason, we are not able to get another player or players in this window, then for the summer it's a big summer ahead, and I'm not in doubt we'll see big improvements there."
Transfer window “isn’t like Football Manager”
On the topic of the “Change for Tottenham” protests, Frank added: "The fans just want the best for the club. Just like I want [the best], the owners, the staff, the players, everyone wants the best for the club, but I also think it's fair to say that the transfer window is not Football Manager unfortunately. It is not."
"It would be a lot easier, but also a little bit more boring. We would not have as many good stories to talk about. In the last 30 days, you couldn't go to work basically because there is nothing to write about or talk about. So, it is very difficult the transfer market. It's an art, it's a craftsmanship."
%20(1).jpg)
