The issues Frank has to solve in Spurs’ pre-season – especially with Gibbs-White signing new Forest deal

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Tottenham Hotspur played two friendlies on Saturday as new head coach Thomas Frank ramps up his pre-season preparations ahead of their two-game tour to Hong Kong and South Korea.

The first was at Tottenham’s training ground against League One side Wycombe Wanderers, kicking off at 11am. A side with a mix of experience and young talents drew 2-2 with the third-tier visitors. Pape Matar Sarr, who started in an advanced midfield role, scored the goals either side of a Junior Quitirna brace for Wycombe. An almost-entirely rotated line-up (other than 18-year-old midfielder Callum Olusesi, who made brief second-half appearances in both matches) then drew 0-0 away at Luton Town, another League One club, in the afternoon.

Despite Frank selecting a relatively experienced team, Spurs struggled to find any rhythm against Luton, who were in the Premier League as recently as May last year but have suffered back-to-back relegations.

And their plans for the rest of the summer transfer window were dealt a big blow by news last night, revealed by The Athletic, that midfield target Morgan Gibbs-White was in talks over a new contract at Nottingham Forest, despite being set for a medical with Spurs two weeks ago. Forest confirmed his new deal shortly afterwards.

As they now prepare to fly to Hong Kong to face local rivals Arsenal in their next warm-up game on Thursday, The Athletic looks at four issues Frank needs to address before the Europa League winners’ season gets underway in earnest against Champions League counterparts Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup on August 13…

No clear starter in defensive midfield

Tottenham have no shortage of international-standard talent who can play at the base of midfield.

In Rodrigo Bentancur’s absence, the 19-year-old George Abbott deputised alongside Lucas Bergvall for the draw with Wycombe. Bergvall was arguably Tottenham’s outstanding performer in the second half of last season, and when the Uruguay international Bentancur returns from his current illness, a double pivot with the Swede isn’t lacking in quality. Yves Bissouma, Archie Gray and Sarr are all also capable of doing a job for Frank as midfield anchors.

However, aside from Gray, all of those players often appear more comfortable in slightly more advanced roles. Whether Frank plays with a No 10 or a more traditional midfield three, Spurs currently lack a destroyer-type in that part of the pitch or a tempo-setting controller in a deeper role to allow that collection of talented (but more advanced) midfielders to showcase their skills.

Gray — who Frank has a long-term admiration for, and tried to sign for Brentford last season from Leeds United — started against Luton, but failed to stamp his authority, with opposition midfielders seemingly able to unsettle him with intensity and physicality.

(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Gray only turned 19 in March and has only made 11 competitive starts at the position since breaking through at Leeds in the 2023-24 Championship, so has plenty of time to flourish into the player many envision. He has also had a short off-season break due to his involvement in England’s Under-21 European Championship triumph in June.

Still, based on his performance at Kenilworth Road yesterday, he — and the same goes for his team-mates in that game — does not appear to be an ideal fit to start for Frank if Tottenham are to have successful 2025-26 seasons in the Premier League and Champions League.

A lack of creative spark without Kulusevski and Maddison

It’s not just at the base of midfield where Frank has a problem.

Last week, the Dane confirmed Dejan Kulusevski will miss the start of the new Premier League campaign and fellow attacking midfielder James Maddison is not yet ready to feature in matches after suffering a season-ending knee injury in early May. Gibbs-White signing a new contract with Forest until summer 2028 is a major stumbling block for Tottenham’s attempts to address this issue, too.

The latter was poised to undergo a medical in north London two weeks ago, but the move stalled as Forest considered reporting Spurs for what they felt was an illegal approach to secure his services. The 25-year-old England international would have added an essential sprinkle of quality (alongside hard work and leadership), but now Tottenham must seek an alternative — either in the market or from within.

(Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)

As was often the case under Ange Postecoglou’s management last season, they have yet to find their creative rhythm with Frank calling the shots. There’s the natural caveat that Luton represented just his third pre-season game in the job, and that this is, after all, only pre-season, but Spurs persistently lack a spark in possession without the injured pair of Kulusevski and Maddison.

Mikey Moore, 17, started in the No 10 role against Luton but was largely on the fringes, registering 22 touches — the fewest of anyone in Spurs’ opening line-up. Jamie Donley was initially at left-back in place of Destiny Udogie, who “felt something in the warm-up” and so was left out as a precaution, but the 20-year-old moved to the No 10 position after Moore was substituted on 77 minutes. Like his fellow academy graduate, Donley failed to make an impact on the game from there.

The performance against Wycombe looked slightly more encouraging from this perspective, with Wilson Odobert drifting in from the wings and causing their defence trouble from the half-spaces (the area between the wings and the centre of the pitch). His threat was evident with the first Tottenham goal, with the Frenchman’s shot from the edge of the box leading to Sarr tapping in the rebound from close range.

Pape fires us ahead! 🔥

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 26, 2025

Sarr’s brace highlighted that Spurs do not need traditional final-third ‘playmakers’ to create, with the Senegal international’s ability to lead an aggressive and coordinated press helping generate several opportunities. However, Frank’s side will need to be more threatening with the ball once the games start to matter.

Their Son-shaped dilemma

Watching him lift the Europa League trophy as Spurs captain in May — the club’s first silverware since 2008 — confirmed what their fans already knew: Son Heung-min is a Tottenham legend. Still, many of those supporters will admit the South Korean’s productivity notably declined last season, and having turned 33 this month he may no longer be that world-class left-winger of years past who was good enough to start for almost any side in Europe.

The Athletic this week reported MLS side LAFC’s interest in Son, who has scored 127 times in 333 Premier League appearances for Spurs over the past decade. While Son’s abilities may be declining, 17 goal contributions (seven goals, 10 assists) in his 30 league matches last season indicate he may still have a lot to offer Frank’s young side both on and off the pitch, and that influence should be a priority consideration when weighing up any offers.

(Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

However, his lack of impact against third-division Wycombe did little to assuage concerns that his best years are now behind him. Tottenham travel to his home country on the second leg of their upcoming tour, and his presence as one of Asia’s biggest stars will undoubtedly provide another boost to their reputation there.

Whether this will be the last time he travels to the region in lilywhite, however, remains to be seen.

Do Spurs have an adequate backup for Solanke?

At this point, it’s fair to presume Solanke will start the new season as Tottenham’s main No 9.

The England international was omitted from the squad to face Luton as a precaution due to a minor ankle injury but, should he avoid any further complications, it appears likely he will start at least one of the Super Cup against PSG in the Italian city of Udine or the Premier League opener at home to promoted Burnley three days later.

His absence offered an opportunity for Mathys Tel and Richarlison to start each of Saturday’s two friendlies in his place, but they failed to capitalise on the moment. Tel was largely neat in possession and offered an outlet behind Luton’s defence, but the 20-year-old Frenchman doesn’t look entirely comfortable leading the line. Earlier against Wycombe, Richarlison squandered good goalscoring opportunities.

Further down the pecking order, Will Lankshear, also 20, and 21-year-old Dane Scarlett lack the experience to spearhead the attack regularly in the biggest competitions.

Tottenham’s decline in goal threat during Solanke’s absence with a knee injury in January and February contributed to their struggles last season, eventually coming 17th in the 20-team division — their lowest finish of the 32-year Premier League era.

If none of Spurs’ current options step up as a viable alternative to Solanke, they may be prompted to go into the market to find one.

(Top photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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