Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Thomas Frank as the club’s new head coach after prying the manager away from his previous post at Brentford.
Spurs made the announcement on Thursday.
ESPN reported that Spurs were hopeful of naming Frank, 51, as Ange Postecoglou’s successor after also considering Fulham boss Marco Silva and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola.
Postecoglou was sacked just 16 days after leading Spurs to Europa League glory, ending a 17-year wait for silverware with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in Bilbao.
“In Thomas we are appointing one of the most progressive and innovative head coaches within the game,” a club statement said. “He has a proven track record in player and squad development and we look forward to him leading the team as we prepare for the season ahead.”
Postecoglou’s achievement in the Europa League was overshadowed by a woeful Premier League season which saw Tottenham finish 17th with 22 defeats, their worst campaign since the club were relegated in 1977.
And Frank has now made the move across London after spending seven years at Brentford. He guided the club to promotion from the Championship in 2021 after Brentford beat Swansea City in the 2021 Championship playoff final.
Under the Danish head coach, Brentford have become an established Premier League team with a reputation for high intensity, forward-thinking football.
In their four Premier League seasons under Frank, Brentford finished 13th, 9th, 16th and 10th. Last term only four teams scored more than their 66 goals.
A keen user of player data, Frank and his backroom staff have proved especially adept at unearthing gems and moving those players on for huge profits, such as forwards Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney and Saïd Benrahma, plus goalkeeper David Raya
Despite the outgoings, Brentford have managed to remain competitive in the top flight under Frank and last season were in the mix for European qualification.
Forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa scored 39 Premier League goals between them last season and both could well be Spurs targets during the close season.
Frank has gained a reputation for his attention to detail and it is no surprise that his Brentford side scored inside 40 seconds in three successive league games last season.
“We have a kickoff strategy and we tweak it from game to game. And as a mindset and philosophy, we like to get straight on the front foot and be positive,” Frank said at the time.
He now faces a completely different challenge at Tottenham and a fast start to his reign will be important to win over fans who felt Postecoglou should have been rewarded for winning a trophy by being given another season at the helm.
Brentford assistant first-team coach Justin Cochrane, head of athletic performance Chris Haslam and first-team analyst Joe Newton are also joining Frank at Spurs, along with Andreas Georgson from Manchester United.
Information from Reuters was used in this story.