Thomas Frank implies Tottenham links to Manuel Akanji are completely false

7 hours ago 27

Amidst reports indicating that Tottenham Hotspur are looking to get another centre-back through the door before the window closes, Thomas Frank has made a very interesting admission about the defensive options at his disposal.

It has been claimed by a number of sources that Spurs want to add another centre-back to their squad after allowing Luka Vuskovic to join Hamburg on loan.

Over the last few days, we have heard that Tottenham have made an approach for Manuel Akanji, while some sources also indicate that his Man City teammate, Nathan Ake, is also on Spurs’ radar.

Additionally, it has also been suggested that Thomas Frank could look to bring Brentford captain Nathan Collins to Tottenham.

Thomas Frank sets the record straight on Tottenham’s centre-back pursuit

However, despite these transfer rumours, Frank has now played down the need for Tottenham to sign another centre-back.

The Spurs head coach insisted that he is not short of options at the back right now despite Radu Dragusin’s injury.

When asked if he is confident in the centre-back options available to him, Frank said (via The Standard): “We have right now three centre backs: Micky, Romero, [Kevin] Danso.

“Ben can play there if necessary. We have Kota, the young central defender we bought this summer, who is running now and training with the team next week. Or training with the ball, there aren’t many left behind. And then Dragusin is coming back in a couple of months, so I think that should be enough.”

When asked if that meant Spurs did not need to sign another centre-back in the current window, Frank responded: “Not as it stands, no.”

Is Frank simply playing down expectations?

While Frank comes across as very honest in his press conferences, there is no reason for him to admit that Tottenham want another centre-back, which will only put more pressure on the club and make negotiations harder.

We have heard over the last 24 hours that Spurs have now launched an opening offer for Manuel Akanji, which suggests that the Lilywhites are definitely in the market for reinforcements at the back.

While Tottenham are not short of options at centre-back, the injury record of Cristian Romero, and particularly, Micky van de Ven, will be a concern.

With Frank wanting the option to use three at the back from time to time, he may want to bring another defender through the door as a precaution.