Frank Leads the Way: Who Else Is Tottenham's Contender?

June 11, 2025 Post a Comment

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has emerged as Tottenham's leading candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou as manager.

Several sources have informed Sports that Tottenham Hotspur is highly interested in Frank, and preliminary efforts have been made to explore the possibility of securing Brentford's coach.

Frank enjoys a positive rapport with Spurs' technical director and compatriot Johan Lange, a connection that might play a crucial role as club chairman Daniel Levy deliberates over his appointment.

But the likes of Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola, Crystal Palace's Oliver Glasner and Fulham's Marco Silva are among others understood to be in the frame.

Moreover, Tottenham has considered bringing back their previous manager, Mauricio Pochettino, who is presently overseeing a team in the United States.

Postecoglou faced consequences due to an unsatisfactory Premier League campaign that resulted in Tottenham finishing only one position clear of the relegation zone.

And their Europa League triumph was not enough to save the Australian from what had seemed inevitable for weeks.

The 59-year-old was appointed boss in June 2023, becoming Spurs' fourth permanent manager since Pochettino led them to the Champions League final in 2018-19, following Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.

Thomas Frank (Brentford)

The top candidate, aged 51, who has led Brentford for over six years, has accomplished an impressive feat.

In 2021, he led them to victory in the Championship play-off final at Wembley, securing their place in the Premier League, and since then, he has solidified Brentford's position among the elite clubs in the top division.

Brentford ended up in 10th place in the Premier League for this season, which was four positions and six points higher than Tottenham Hotspur’s ranking. Would that make him consider joining them?

In January, he told Football Focus that managing Brentford was the "perfect job" - but also accepted he would not be at the club forever.

"Pressure at Tottenham is significantly higher compared to that at Brentford due to greater expectations, and this burden falls upon the manager to manage," said Chris Sutton, who was part of the Blackburn Rovers team that won the Premier League title in 1994-95, speaking to Sport.

So what would Spurs look like under Frank if he were to take the role?

"It's a surprisingly difficult question to answer because he's a really flexible manager," said football tactics writer Alex Keble.

"He will automatically adapt his tactics to whoever the opposition is, a bit like Unai Emery at Aston Villa.

"In many ways he's the opposite of Ange Postecoglou, who is famously wedded to one idea."

Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth)

Iraola was arguably the Premier League's manager of the season, so tempting the 42-year-old Spaniard to north London could be a tough ask - he may feel he has unfinished business at Bournemouth.

They finished ninth in the Premier League, just missing out on qualifying for European football.

His high-energy pressing style has seen Bournemouth earn rave reviews from pundits and opposition players - and would not be too far away from the intended style of Postecoglou at Spurs.

His managerial career started in Cyprus at AEK Larnaca but he was sacked within six months after going nearly eight weeks without a win.

His second role was at Spanish second-tier side Mirandes, who he guided to the Spanish Cup semi-finals for the second time in their history, but he left when his contract expired.

He moved to fellow second division side Rayo Vallecano and led them to the last four of the cup as well, before securing promotion to La Liga via the play-offs.

He was approached by Leeds in February 2023 but was denied permission to speak to them and then left that summer to join Bournemouth.

Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace)

After securing a surprising victory in the FA Cup final against Manchester City, which led Crystal Palace to qualify for European competitions, Glasner’s name has come under consideration.

The Austrian took charge of the Palace at number 10 position during his first full season following his appointment as manager in February 2024, succeeding Roy Hodgson. After an initial sluggish beginning, he has continued that impressive performance into the current season.

The contract for the 50-year-old individual ends in 2026. Last month, Eagles owner Steve Parish dismissed rumors about Tottenham connections, firmly stating that Glasner will remain as the Crystal Palace manager into the following season.

In his debut campaign leading the team in 2022, Glasner helped guide Eintracht Frankfurt to victory in the Europa League.

Marco Silva (Fulham)

During his two-and-a-half-year tenure at Fulham, Silva has worked on restoring his reputation, which took a hit following his dismissal from Everton after just 18 months in command back in 2019.

Following nearly two years away from football management, he returned to revitalize Fulham in west London. Since then, he has successfully restored the team’s prominence in the Premier League, with finishes of 10th place in 2022-23, 13th the following season, and 11th this current term.

The Portuguese started his managerial career in charge of Estoril, guiding them into the Portuguese top flight and the Europa League.

In his single season at Sporting he won the Portuguese Cup, and in his year at Olympiakos, who he also managed in the Champions League, he took them to the Greek League title.

He spent four months at Hull in 2017 but left after they were relegated from the Premier League, before joining Watford and taking the team into the top four during his first few months in charge.

But he was dismissed after a dismal run that saw them win just one of his last 11 Premier League games.

Roberto de Zerbi (Marseille)

Former Brighton boss De Zerbi built a strong reputation during his time in the Premier League.

The 45-year-old has just led Marseille to second in Ligue 1 behind champions Paris St-Germain and can look forward to Champions League football next campaign.

But, with Spurs now also in the Champions League, could he be tempted by a return to England's top flight?

Mauricio Pochettino (United States)

The return of Pochettino is a reunion many Tottenham fans would be dreaming of. But, on the face of it, it seems unlikely.

The Argentine remains a hero among some of the regulars at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Joining in 2014, he led the team to second and third in the Premier League, and a Champions League final.

And he had sections of his former club's fanbase giddy with excitement in March after he declared his desire to one day return to Tottenham.

The United States boss is under pressure in his current role but the country's soccer federation would be owed what has been described by a well-placed source as "one of the biggest financial compensation fees In the annals of football history, should Pochettino depart for Tottenham Hotspur - or indeed any other club - prior to the subsequent World Cup.

Moreover, even though the 53-year-old has a strong connection with Spurs, he still harbors a sincere wish to captain the United States team at the upcoming World Cup.

Edin Terzic (unattached)

Last season, Terzic led Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final, where they were defeated by Real Madrid at Wembley. Shortly after this match, Terzic requested an early termination of his contract with Dortmund and subsequently departed from the club.

Although he has never coached in the Premier League, the 42-year-old had a stint of slightly more than two years at West Ham from August 2015 to November 2017, serving as an assistant under Slaven Bilic during that time. There have also been recent reports suggesting his interest in potentially joining an English club.

Francesco Farioli (unattached)

Italian Farioli, aged 36, received significant praise during his tenure with Ajax for a single season, even though he stepped down following the conclusion of the campaign. His team suffered a notable late slump which resulted in them failing to secure the Dutch championship.

It was unprecedented for a team to fail to secure the league title when ahead by nine points with only five games left to play.

After losing and drawing two times each in their last four matches, PSV surpassed them to take the lead with just one game left.

Kieran McKenna (Ipswich)

McKenna has excelled in his initial tenure as manager of Ipswich Town, guiding the team from League One to the Premier League within two and a half years. However, their stay in the top division was brief, lasting only one season.

An expansive brand of football saw them gain promotion with successive second-place finishes, scoring 101 goals in League One and 92 in the Championship.

That means it is no surprise the 38-year-old from Northern Ireland is considered one of the top managerial prospects around.

He was linked with the jobs at Brighton, Manchester United and Chelsea last summer, having spent just £4m last campaign to guide his side into the Premier League.

However, he signed a four-year deal at the Tractor Boys in May 2024 and would be expensive to prise away from Ipswich.

He also recently stated he intends to remain at Ipswich, despite their Premier League relegation.

Sir Gareth Southgate (unattached)

Ex-England manager Southgate has taken some time off after resigning post the Euro 2024 final where the Three Lions were defeated by Spain.

His English team had also made it to the finals of the Euros three years prior, where they were defeated by Italy in a penalty shootout.

The individual, who is 54 years old, led the English team for eight years and received knighthood as part of the 2025 New Year Honours.

Nevertheless, he has only held one position in club management: a three-year tenure at Middlesbrough, during which the team was relegated from the Premier League in the 2008-09 season. There have been no signs suggesting a strong urge for him to return to employment.

Xavi (unattached)

The ex-Spain midfielder has been unemployed since his dismissal from Barcelona at the conclusion of the previous season.

The individual, aged 45, led Barcelona to win the La Liga championship in 2023 and has lately expressed his desire to get back into football management.

But, whether he would be tempted by a move to Spurs remains to be seen.

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