Tottenham are hoping to build on last season’s Europa League success under new manager Thomas Frank. We preview their 2025-26 by looking at some of the key issues they face.
It is pretty much impossible to predict what this season is going to bring for Tottenham.
This is a side who just endured one of the most remarkable campaigns by any team in the history of football, finishing 17th in the Premier League and ending their wait for silverware by winning the Europa League. And then they changed their manager in the summer, too.
Domestically, it can’t get any worse than last season (can it?!), but a challenge for the top five or six might prove too big a jump, particularly considering they will also be contending with a packed schedule that includes UEFA Champions League football.
There are just so many unknowns. New manager Thomas Frank has never managed at this level. The make-up of the squad is still a long way from settled. There will be more incomings and outgoings before the transfer window closes.
But what are the key issues for Spurs ahead of the new season? Here, we take a look at five of the biggest.
How Will the Premier League’s 17th-Best Team Fare with Champions League Football?
In terms of domestic league position, Tottenham are the worst team ever to qualify for the Champions League. They finished 17th in the Premier League last season but made it into football’s biggest competition by winning the Europa League.
Few people actually think they were the fourth-worst team in England last term, or that they will be the worst team ever to play in the Champions League. Most would probably expect them to finish in the top 24 in the 36-team league phase and at least make it into the play-off round of the competition.
Part of the reason Spurs finished so low down the Premier League table last season was that they had put all of their focus on Europe, something that then-manager Ange Postecoglou later admitted to doing. The Premier League was an afterthought for the final months of 2024-25.
Obviously, that won’t be the case this season, but it is true that this is essentially the same squad that could not handle competing domestically and being in the Europa League last season. And Postecoglou rotated heavily throughout the league phase in Europe, a luxury that Frank won’t have in the Champions League.
Even with that rotation, Postecoglou’s Spurs suffered terribly with injuries last season, and many blamed him for demanding too much from his players. Tottenham ranked in the top three teams in the Premier League last season for distance covered (111.5 km per 90), sprints (167.5 per 90), off-ball runs (159.0 per 90) and pressures in the final third (55.2 per 90).
It will be interesting this season, then, to see how the same group of players manage while playing in a more difficult European competition, and if injuries are still a big problem with a more pragmatic manager. Was Ange the issue, or is this group of players too injury-prone, too brittle?
They struggled terribly with the balancing act of having European football last season, and the Champions League is a different beast entirely to the Europa. Some fans may even be expecting a domestic cup run (or two), as well. Managing the physical demands this season will be one of the biggest challenges.
Will Leaving Their Transfer Business Late (Again) Hurt Them?
Once again, Spurs appear to be leaving their transfer business late. Many fans have grown frustrated with chairman Daniel Levy over the years for persisting with this tactic to try and get a few quid off their signings.
This is assuming they actually do some more business, of course, but the failed Morgan Gibbs-White pursuit and Frank saying Spurs “are definitely in the market in general” after the friendly defeat to Bayern Munich last week at least suggests they intend to try.
However, less than three weeks away from the transfer window shutting, everyone knows Spurs are getting desperate, so anyone they try and sign will presumably instantly become a bit more expensive. And there’s not a lot they can do about that now.
The rumour mill suggests they are working to get some deals done, but there is an urgency to their need for a number 10 after James Maddison suffered an ACL injury in pre-season. Others believe further reinforcement is needed in both in defence and attack.
Just as importantly, signing players late means they have less time to settle. It’s unlikely anyone else will arrive in time to feature in the UEFA Super Cup against PSG on Wednesday.
And as well as having silverware to play for, Spurs have three Premier League games before the transfer window closes: two winnable home matches, against Burnley and Bournemouth, and a trip to Manchester City, where they won 4-0 last season. It would be frustrating for fans to watch the club fail to give Frank the best chance possible of winning a couple of them.
Spurs made a great start to life under Postecoglou, winning eight and drawing two of his first 10 league games, and that brought him a great deal of patience and grace from the fans. That even lasted well into his disastrous (on a domestic front) second season, and Frank could do with all the help possible in getting off on the right foot in his new job.
Can Solanke Find His Goalscoring Touch?
Tottenham broke their transfer record to sign Dominic Solanke in a deal that could be worth up to £65 million last summer. It made sense; he was the most active and effective pressing forward at Bournemouth the season before, and Spurs were active (if not all that effective) pressers under Postecoglou.
Judging whether the move has been a success so far depends on who you ask. Spurs immediately looked better with Solanke up front, and they struggled whenever he was absent last term, with his energy, pressing and smart movement helping to get the most out of his teammates. And he led the line throughout their run to Europa League glory.
However, someone looking for goals from their centre-forward might argue Solanke’s first season at Spurs was a tad underwhelming.
He scored just eight non-penalty Premier League goals last season. In all competitions, he scored 14 times in 45 games, averaging 0.34 goals per 90.
That isn’t all his fault, obviously. He was settling in at a new club, with the pressure of a massive price tag around his neck, and he was also playing for a Tottenham side who spent much of the season either losing games in the Premier League or sat deep in their own half and providing next to no attacking threat in the Europa League. It wasn’t the best environment for a new centre-forward to thrive.
He is capable of far better than we saw last season, when injuries were a problem for him. He scored 19 Premier League goals in his last season at Bournemouth, and Spurs will be hoping for something more like that this term.
Frank will likely have Spurs continue to play a front-footed defensive game to get the most of Solanke’s pressing. Even if his Brentford side weren’t particularly proactive with their pressing, ranking 14th for pressures in the final third (57.9 per game) in the Premier League last season, when they did press, they did it well. Only two teams won possession in the final third more times than Brentford (5.0 per game).
Frank’s coaching and history in talent development could help get the most of Solanke. The Dane has plenty of history of improving centre-forwards, with Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa and Ollie Watkins just three recent examples of strikers whose game went up a level under him.
Spurs fans will hope he can do the same for Solanke.
Is This Squad Too Young?
Following Son Heung-min’s departure to LAFC, only one member of Tottenham’s 2019 squad that made it to the Champions League final remains. And that sole player, Ben Davies, is unlikely to have much impact on the first team.
Spurs have gone through a lot of change in the last few years, and with many of the departures, they have lost a lot of experience. Many of their leaders of recent times have left. Davies is now the only member of the squad over the age of 30. Bryan Gil is the club’s second-longest-serving player.
Lots of managers prefer playing with younger players. And there are plenty of examples of young teams that have enjoyed a lot of success. Mauricio Pochettino did very well with a young Spurs team, for example.
But experience can also be useful. Tottenham were already one of the Premier League’s youngest sides. Last season, only Chelsea (24 years, 36 days) and Brighton (25y, 100d) had a lower average age of their starting XIs than Spurs (25y, 169d), and with the departures of players like Son, Fraser Forster and Timo Werner, that average age may even go down despite the unavoidable truth that we’re all getting older (sorry to break it to you).
With Maddison out injured, there aren’t going to be many natural leaders in the dressing room and out on the pitch week in, week out. And the best of theirs, Cristian Romero, always misses a chunk of the season due to injury or suspension, and there’s not a great deal of reason to expect any different this year. There’s an argument that this squad is lacking in experience and leadership.
That said, the majority of them did win the Europa League last season, and that will only make them stronger. They won a huge game in tough circumstances and will believe they can do it again.
But results were much, much better with Son playing last season. Spurs won 41.7% of the Premier League games he started, and just 7.1% without him. It’s impossible to say for sure but part of the reason for that could have been to do with his presence and leadership. And with his departure, Frank needs to name a new captain.
“I would like a captain that can bring the group together and can set standards,” he said this week. “So, for the captain to be one of the best trainers, if not the best trainer. Also, that he, hopefully, can get around the squad, just be with everyone.”
The truth is that there aren’t that many options for him to choose from. So, in the difficult moments this season, will this squad stand strong or will they wilt?
Can Thomas Frank Make Spurs Enjoyable to Watch (For Their Own Fans)?
Ange Postecoglou’s commitment to making football an entertainment product at Spurs was admirable, but it was ultimately also his downfall.
“Are you not entertained?” he bristled at a Sky Sports reporter after Tottenham very nearly threw away a 3-0 lead at home to Manchester United in the EFL Cup last year.
In domestic competition, Spurs were entertaining under him. People enjoyed watching them. The problem was it was largely neutrals who did so. Spurs fans didn’t have much reason to enjoy watching them simply because they lost so often.
Obviously, Frank’s main job is to make Tottenham better. A huge part of that will be making the defence more durable. Only four teams conceded more Premier League goals last season than them (65).
But many fans also – possibly unreasonably – will want positive results without the team becoming too boring. They won’t want the ultra-defensive football that won Spurs the Europa League last season. They had too much of that under José Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
Striking that balance will be key for Frank. It’s one he largely got right with Brentford, who were solid at the back but also attacked with verve and pace. Last season, they spent more of their opposition’s build-up in a low block than any other team (28%), while also only being outscored by four teams – the top three and Newcastle.
Can he do that with this Tottenham team, while also managing in the Champions League for the first time ever? He is clearly a very good and intelligent manager, but this is a challenge he has never faced before.
It’s without doubt the biggest of his career, in a much more pressured environment than he has ever had to deal with. He’ll do well just to keep on smiling as much as he did in his previous job.
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