Three changes Thomas Frank should make to Tottenham's Champions League squad - Opinion

With the January transfer window over, Tottenham can finally update their Champions League squad and Thomas Frank has some tough decisions to make.

It’s been a disappointing month for Spurs, with only two new additions to the first-team squad and no league wins in the month of January.

Thomas Frank’s squad has been depleted by injuries, while the experienced Brennan Johnson has moved on. That leaves Tottenham a bit short, but also opens up some opportunities when it comes to the Champions League.

The one thing to cheer about for Spurs fans right now is the Champions League, but Frank has to make sure he adjusts his squad accordingly to give himself the best chance of success in the knockout stages.

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What changes Tottenham need for Champions League knockout squad

Now that we are into February and the knockout stages are upon us, clubs can make three changes to their Champions League squad.

That’s great timing for Spurs, but Frank has a bit of a headache to deal with. Essentially, Tottenham have 27 first-team players to fit into just 21 spaces (the lack of homegrown players means the squad has to be dramatically reduced from the standard 25-man squad).

Obviously, Brennan Johnson will be removed, while Ben Davies is out for the season, so he will drop out, too. Conor Gallagher is an easy decision to throw in there, especially as he’s homegrown.

However, while Mathys Tel would be the natural choice to include, Spurs are not allowed to put him in the squad unless they take out a non-homegrown player. Frank could gamble and take the likes of Mohammed Kudus or Lucas Bergvall, who are injured until potentially the end of March, but that would be a risk if Spurs do make it to the latter stages of the tournament.

Honestly, though, if it were up to me, I would probably take that chance. It’s better to have a full squad of fit players than to hope for the best and wait for injured players to come back. We could keep Kudus and co. in there and then get knocked out anyway, so what’s the point?

Kudus probably gets a stay of execution, purely because the wing areas are so poor right now. So for me, it’s Bergvall out and Tel in for the knockout rounds. Radu Dragusin will feel aggrieved not to be included, but Spurs have just enough cover for the defensive areas already.

One of the more interesting decisions will be what Thomas Frank does regarding Dejan Kulusevski, who has still not returned from injury and would likely only play a part if Spurs make it to the matter stages.

With all that in mind, I would suggest:

Out: Ben Davies, Brennan Johnson, Rodrigo Bentancur (or Kevin Danso depending on the seriousness of his injury)

In: Radu Dragusin, Conor Gallagher, Dejan Kulusevski

• READ MORE: Five positions Tottenham still need to strengthen after January transfer window struggles

Radu Dragusin should have been sold in January

The fact that Dragusin is still a Spurs player is ludicrous, frankly. It seemed so obvious that he would move on, even if it was a loan.

With the likes of Napoli and Roma in for him, it’s not like Spurs were short of options to offload the Romanian, either. For the sake of the club and the player, it seemed like the logical move. Perhaps Kevin Danso’s injury put an end to that.

But, given the injury crisis, Thomas Frank may well need Dragusin to give Cristian Romero or Micky van de Ven some rest or cover, especially with Danso and Davies both out.

Regardless, Dragusin has to be one of the first players out of the door in the summer, with Luka Vuskovic replacing him in the squad for 2026/27.