Thomas Frank is the No 1 managerial target at Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur are making progress in discussions to land Thomas Frank as their new head coach, with sources revealing to TEAMtalk that Francesco Farioli could replace the Dane at Brentford.
Tottenham were facing a tricky decision over Ange Postecoglou after a remarkable season in which they finished way down in 17th in the Premier League but managed to end their 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League. Postecoglou insisted he ‘always wins things in his second year’ and he delivered, with his Tottenham side beating Manchester United in Bilbao.
However, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy decided to sack Postecoglou on Friday evening.
Levy and fellow Spurs chiefs simply could not look beyond the club’s awful league campaign in which they lost 22 out of 38 matches.
The search for Postecoglou’s replacement is underway and Frank has been installed as Spurs’ main target.
TEAMtalk revealed on Monday that Spurs have held positive talks with Frank and have learned he would be very much open to replacing Postecoglou.
Frank has an £8million (€9.5m) release clause in his contract, but Spurs feel it is worth paying after the excellent work he has done at Brentford.
Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Spurs are ‘advancing’ on the 51-year-old’s appointment, with ‘more talks to follow next week’.
Spurs are ‘optimistic’ they will ‘make it happen soon’. We understand an official bid from Spurs is in the works.
Spurs also made contact for ex-Brighton & Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi, but he has communicated his decision to remain at Marseille.
TEAMtalk can reveal that Brentford are bracing themselves for Frank to leave and have identified Farioli as a potential replacement.
The Italian is keen to speak with Brentford as he is hopeful of managing in the Premier League for the first time.
He wants a project where can build a top team and Brentford could offer him exactly that.
Under Frank’s guidance, the Bees gained promotion to the Premier League for the first time and have since established themselves as a comfortable mid-table team.
Frank to Spurs, Farioli to Brentford?
Farioli has also been linked with the Spurs job, but Levy would rather appoint someone with proven Premier League experience such as Frank.
Farioli is only 36 years old but has built up a great reputation following his time at Nice and the early stages of his Ajax spell.
However, his Ajax side suffered an historic collapse towards the end of the 2024-25 campaign, letting slip a nine-point lead with five games remaining to gift PSV the Eredivisie title.
Farioli was visibly emotional after the final game of the season and subsequently left Ajax.
While this collapse will of course be worrying for Brentford fans, Bees chiefs believe he could emerge as one of the best young coaches in England with the right backing and with players of the correct mentality.
Returning to Spurs, it has been suggested that the appointment of Frank could help them sign Bryan Mbeumo before Manchester United.
Earlier on Saturday, it emerged that coaches Mile Jedinak, Nick Montgomery and Sergio Raimundo have been sacked alongside Postecoglou.
Sources have revealed to TEAMtalk that three Spurs players in particular are furious with the decision to axe Postecoglou. The 59-year-old was loved by the majority of the Spurs squad, despite the poor performances in the league.