Thomas Frank has made an excellent start as manager of Tottenham Hotspur, losing just one of his first nine competitive games since taking over.
The Dane has already led the Lilywhites to impressive wins against Manchester City and West Ham United, and the defensive unit’s recent efforts deserve plenty of praise.
Spurs conceded a staggering 65 goals in the Premier League last season (an average of 1.7 goals per game), which arguably led to their 17th place finish and the sacking of manager Ange Postecoglou.
Their record of conceding just five goals in the English top flight in the 2025/26 season means they are tied for second in the division, making Frank’s side a really difficult team to break down at the moment.
But with the return of Fabio Paratici as North London’s sporting director, attention has already turned to the January period, which is rapidly coming into view.
Spurs will look for new attacker in January
The window remains closed for a few more months, but Spurs now appear to be planning to further strengthen their first-team squad to help Frank in the Premier League and Champions League.
After spending more than £110m in the summer alone, it remains to be seen how much money executives will hand over to recruitment teams in the next period.
However, TBR Football recently reported that the Lilywhites and Paratici are “very keen” to sign Bournemouth star man Antoine Semenyo in the winter.
But they are not the only ones chasing them, with defending Premier League champions Liverpool reportedly also eyeing the Ghanaian international.
The article states that the 25-year-old’s contract with Vitality is believed to have a release clause, but it is unclear how much it would cost to lure him away from the Cherries midway through the season.
Why Spurs’ latest target is better than Kudus
After taking over in the summer transfer window, Frank’s first move was to build reinforcements within the final third in order to make Spurs’ side a force to be reckoned with.
It was during this time that Mohamed Kudus arrived from West Ham United for a fee of £55 million, providing the Dane with the option he wanted on the right side of the attack.
In his first interview after making the big-money transfer, the Ghanaian player stated that he only wanted to join the Lilywhites, causing controversy with his move in the capital.
But he backed up those big words, scoring once and scoring four goals in Frank’s first seven top-flight appearances since joining Spurs.
There is no denying that the former Hammers star has secured a place in the starting eleven, but if the winger completes a move of his own, he could be overthrown by north Londoner Semenyo. After all, in the words of former Spurs and England star Chris Waddle, Semenyo is “the best winger in England right now”.
Breaking down their respective stats in the early stages of the new season, the Bournemouth talisman managed to outperform him in a number of key areas.
Described as “incredibly unique” by Jamie Redknapp, Semenyo has made more total goal contributions to date and has a better goals-per-shot ratio (0.6).
Semenyo & Kudus – PL Stats (25/26) | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics (every 90) | Semenyo | holy |
games played | 7 | 7 |
goals and assists | 9 | 5 |
Accuracy of shots on target | 50% | 38% |
Goals per shot on target | 0.6 | 0.2 |
progressive path | 3.4 | 2.4 |
pass into the opponent’s box | 1.7 | 1.3 |
progressive carry | 3.2 | 2.9 |
Carry into the opposition box | 1.4 | 0.8 |
aerial won | 2.3 | 0.7 |
Statistics by FBref | ||
Figures like these highlight the Cherries star’s ability to torment opponents while also being able to put the finishing touch on chances that fall into dangerous areas.
He also averaged more progressive passes completed per 90 (4.3) and completed more passes into the opposition box per 90 (1.7). This highlighted his ability to create endless chances for players around him.
The Ghanaian’s advantage over his compatriot is also evident in his higher number of aerial wins per 90 (2.3), and such numbers definitely make him a more all-round threat in the forward areas.
It’s unclear how much Semenyo’s signing will cost the hierarchy in January, but it’s clear they will be acquiring yet another top-flight attacking option.
Given the interest from other countries, the Paracities will need to do everything in their power to avoid missing out on his signature and preventing their rivals from further strengthening their ranks.
