Thomas Frank says he only wants players to sign to Tottenham if they are committed to playing for the club.
The Tottenham boss was speaking after seeing Arsenal snatch Eberechi Eze out of his grasp despite Spurs having agreed a fee with Crystal Palace for the winger.
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Eze is set to undergo a medical on Friday before being unveiled as a new Arsenal player.
And that means it’s back to the drawing board for Tottenham in their pursuit of attacking reinforcements.
However, despite widespread taunts of Spurs and their perceived lack of ambition in the transfer market, Frank was in a bullish mood on Friday.
“To make it very, very clear, I don’t want any players who don’t want to come to the club and wear this fantastic badge,” Frank said.
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“We don’t want them here, that’s very clear. The fans also feel the same. If they don’t want to play for the club, really enjoy it, no problem. We don’t want them here. That’s the message.”
He continued: “Whoever the player is, whoever they support I don’t care too much about. We all have a past. The main thing is the player wants to come. If they’re from Spain, Brazil, Denmark… if they want to come, perfect.”
Asked if Spurs will be making further signings before the transfer window shuts, Frank said: “I’m pretty confident that we will sign a player before the end of the window.”
talkSPORT understands Tottenham do not feel they could have done more to sign Eze, having agreed terms with both Palace and the player.
It is understood Palace were waiting to finalise the deal so that Eze could feature in their Conference League play-off on Thursday night.
But Arsenal swooped in late on Wednesday following an injury to Kai Havertz, and Spurs sources believe Eze’s emotional connection to the Gunners ended up deciding the matter.
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The England star ended up sitting out of the 1-0 victory over Fredrikstad on Thursday night.
Asked if Spurs will be making further signings before the transfer window shuts, Frank said: “I’m pretty confident that we will sign a player before the end of the window.”
Eze is the second Spurs target to slip out their grasp this summer after Morgan Gibbs-White’s transfer from Nottingham Forest fell through.
Frank was then pressed on whether he would be dipping into the transfer market before the end of the transfer window and gave an overwhelming response.
“I’m pretty confident that we will sign a player before the end of the window,” he said.
Meanwhile the Spurs boss offered an update on injured forward Dejan Kulusevski.
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The Swede has been sidelined since May after undergoing knee surgery.
He was initially expected to be out for ‘a few months’ but recent reports claimed Kulusevski had suffered setback and could ruled out until 2026.
And Frank did little to allay Spurs’ fans fear when asked about the forwards return ahead of Saturday’s trip to Manchester City.
“No Kulusevski, he’s out. That’s a longer one, I don’t want to put a timeframe on it,” Frank told reporters.
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The Swede’s unavailability comes just as Frank adjusts to life without playmaker James Maddison.
The England international is set to miss the majority of the season with a serious knee injury, leaving Frank without two of his most decisive stars for the foreseeable future.
