Thomas Frank’s first match in charge of Tottenham Hotspur ended in a 2-0 win over Reading at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, and there was plenty to unpack from it.
Tottenham Hotspur’s pre-season campaign is only just getting started, but the early signs under Frank were encouraging as the team rotated heavily and managed to come away with a comfortable result.
With the full-time whistle sounded and Spurs up and running in pre-season, we have picked out five early observations from Frank’s managerial debut.
Luka Vuskovic scores and assists in Tottenham debut
In his first game as Spurs boss, Thomas Frank named two very strong XIs against Reading. The first forty-five saw Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, Pedro Porro and others feature, but they failed to score any goals.
However, the second forty saw the floodgates open, and Tottenham defender Luka Vuskovic was right in the thick of it.
The 18-year-old centre-back, who just returned from loan at Westerlo, announced himself to the Tottenham faithful by grabbing a goal and an assist after spending less than ten minutes on the pitch.
His assist came from a well-flicked header from a Mohammed Kudus corner after he rose highest in the box before finding Will Lankshear’s head, while his goal was a well-taken low driven shot into the bottom right corner from a Kudus cutback.
With such a performance, which is arguably a man-of-the-match display, Vuskovic is already staking his claim for a spot in the first team this season.
Mohammed Kudus impresses on debut in Spurs win
Still on the theme of debut performances, Kudus cannot be overlooked. Of course, the Ghanaian is no stranger to playing football in the English top flight, and that was evident in his display today.
Kudus looked very sharp, almost as if he had been a part of the Spurs system for quite some time. The Ghana international was confident with the ball, was not scared to link up with his teammates, was positive when trying to move forward and took on his man when the opportunity arose.
He was used almost as a second ten, as Frank saw to it that Kudus received the ball in central areas. The early signs are good, and indeed, this is the benefit of signing players with experience, as the adaptation period is reduced.
Jamie Donley and Alfie Devine both feature in number 10 role
Two Spurs youngsters were also handed much-needed minutes in this tie, with Alfie Devine playing in the first forty-five, before Jamie Donley came on in the second half.
Both played in the ten position, and they looked really solid in their performances. Devine was used on the right and often received the ball in those areas.
He did create a chance, after his pass found Solanke, who shot over on the stretch. Donley, however, was involved in the second forty, with his best chance coming from a deflected shot after Kudus found him with a cutback.
The big question, however, is who played better? Both players had similar performances, with Devine edging it with 0.2 in FotMob’s player ratings.
Devine’s stats read: 45 minutes played, 12/17 accurate passes (71%), 1 chance created, 21 touches, 3 touches in the opposition box, 3 passes into the final third, 1/1 accurate cross, and 1 time dispossessed.
Donley played 47 minutes, completed 13/19 passes (68%), had 1 total shot, 22 touches, 1 touch in the opposition box, 4 passes into the final third, 1/1 accurate long ball, and was not dispossessed.
Heung-min Son and Cristian Romero rotate Spurs captaincy
The clash against Reading also saw Spurs use two separate captains, with Cristian Romero leading the side in the first half, while Heung-min Son was the skipper in the second forty-five.
Frank already stated that he has not picked his Tottenham captain just yet and that he has a long bullet list that he is going through before he decides.
It looks as though both players are now in a battle for who will be the club’s skipper ahead of the season. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top in that one, too.
Four Tottenham players unused in win over Reading
While Thomas Frank made use of a whopping 22 players – two different XIs in the first forty-five and the second – a few players still missed out and did not get a feel of the ball.
The first forty-five saw the likes of Antonin Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero (c), Kevin Danso, Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr, Alfie Devine, Brennan Johnson, Dominic Solanke and Mikey Moore take to the pitch.
Meanwhile, Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies, Luka Vuskovic, Micky van de Ven, Djed Spence, Yves Bissouma, Lucas Bergvall, Jamie Donley, Heung-min Son, Will Lankshear and Mohammed Kudus formed the second-half eleven.
This saw the likes of Abbott, Austin, Phillips and Yang Min-hyeok miss out entirely, not featuring at all. Of course, there are still four other pre-season friendlies to come, and they should get a chance in those games.
However, one could not rule out that a loan move could be on for Abbott, Phillips and Yang Min-hyeok, which is one to keep an eye on.
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