Tottenham face the possibility of losing their ever-present starting eleven in Thomas Frank as Inter Milan prepare to offer him a contract, according to reports.
Thomas Frank under pressure after crushing defeat at Nottingham Forest
The pressure was already on Frank before last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, but that pressure has now reached a boiling point.
Frank’s position has come under increasing scrutiny since Spurs suffered a dismal afternoon at the City Ground on Sunday, suffering a complete defeat to Sean Dyche’s side.
Callum Hudson-Odoi’s brace and Ibrahim Sangare’s stunning late strike handed Spurs their sixth Premier League defeat of the season, with the visitors completely dominated from start to finish, managing just one shot on target.
As a result, Tottenham sit mid-table in the table, with only four points separating them from Forest in 16th place.
Tottenham could prove ‘attractive’ for the manager, who Levy had been urged to hire ahead of Frank
He is on the verge of leaving his current club.
Frank admitted after the match that he was “burning up inside” after what he described as a “bad performance”, and admitted his team looked increasingly disjointed after conceding the goal.
“It’s extremely troubling and it’s burning inside me,” Frank told reporters.
“We came into this game feeling really good and this performance wasn’t good enough. Overall, it was a bad performance.
“I thought we looked even more disjointed, especially after the first goal. Before that, they were winning more duels and landing more second balls. And the worst thing was that we gave the ball away about 20 times. It was a simple pass. When you lose those three elements, it becomes very difficult to win football matches.”
The defeat briefly ended a three-match unbeaten run that had brought a brief period of optimism following wins over Brentford and Slavia Prague.
Internal discussions are reportedly underway at Tottenham over Frank’s future, but club bosses insist no decision will be made imminently.
Frank appears to be in no immediate danger of losing his job (ESPN), but the patience of supporters frustrated by conservative tactics and underwhelming performances is wearing thin.
To make matters worse, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario had another nightmare performance against Forest and was responsible for Hudson-Odoi’s two goals.
The Italian was initially put under heavy pressure by teammate Archie Gray playing from the back, allowing Sangaré to win the ball and take the lead.
Five minutes after half-time, Vicario badly misjudged Hudson-Odoi’s overhit cross, which went over the goal and into the far corner.
The 29-year-old has been repeatedly linked with a possible return to Serie A next year, with news outlet L’Interista reporting a new update.
Inter ready to offer Tottenham number one Guglielmo Vicario
Vicario has played more minutes as the undisputed number one this season than any other Lilywhites player in the league, but the Spurs mainstay wants to return to Italy.
This is according to L’Interista, who report that Inter are prepared to offer Vicario £17.5m, even if Tottenham want more than £22m.
There is a price difference at the moment, but it is believed that the Nerazzurri can close the gap as Cristian Chivu’s squad ticks a lot of boxes.
Inter could offer Vicario a significant pay rise from his current £75,000-a-week wage at Spurs to encourage him to move to the San Siro, and Inter are “confident” they will get a deal done for him.
This coincides with reports that Tottenham are assessing potential goalkeeping options ahead of the new year.
Man City’s number two James Trafford is said to have fans in north London, while Spurs are also reportedly fans of Brighton shot-stopper Bert Verbruggen, so Vicario’s departure could be a player to watch in 2026.
‘Top’ 4-2-3-1 manager becomes Tottenham’s top target to replace Frank
Tottenham are considering replacing their current manager following their heavy defeat against Nottingham Forest.
