ENIC hold talks to hire Frank upgrade at Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur won’t want to cut ties with Thomas Frank at the mid-point of his maiden campaign, especially while in the thick of a transfer window, but improvements are needed.

Quickly. This is not good enough. Confidence and creative levels are both low, and with just one win from seven Premier League matches, Spurs are 14th in the standings and at risk of being cut adrift from European contention.

A spate of injuries to Mohammed Kudus and Rodrigo Bentancur, who join the likes of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Destiny Udogie in the infirmary, aren’t helping, but all the same, Frank knows he is approaching borrowed time if he cannot get a tune out of his players.

The latest on Frank’s Spurs future

A deal has been struck with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Conor Gallagher, and more moves are in the works. This is promising, but there is a disconnect between Frank and the Tottenham fanbase, and if he cannot bridge that gulf, new recruits will be plying their trade under a new manager down N17.

Football Insider believe Spurs could take a page from Manchester United’s book and appoint an interim boss until the end of the season, should Frank be dismissed.

But an opportunity has emerged on the managerial market.

As per reports in Spain, ENIC Group have held talks with Xabi Alonso’s representatives, with the Spaniard having left his post at Real Madrid this week.

Alonso, 44, is one of the sharpest tactical minds in the world, and he may fancy a step down from the pressures of a team like Los Blancos, instead managing a Spurs side who will embrace his vision and philosophy, strapping in for a long and successful project.

He would get the most out of this Tottenham team, perhaps an ideal boss for soon-to-be Spurs star Gallagher too.

How Alonso would use Conor Gallagher

Gallagher is an intelligent and multi-functional midfielder, and for his efforts in the Premier League with Chelsea, old teammate Moises Caicedo hailed him as playing “like a machine“.

Alonso needs that. Too often at Madrid did his players struggle to accept and apply his teachings. Tottenham – and Alonso – need a midfielder in the centre who is tactically malleable.

Gallagher is that midfielder, controlled on the ball and capable of passing forwards too, all the while outworking his opponents and sweeping up danger.

The 26-year-old can adapt to any system, and Alonso has shown that he can create a special one, having led Bayer Leverkusen to an invincible league-and-cup double in 2023/24, leading Statman Dave to hail him as a managerial “legend” in the early knockings of what promises to be a long and prosperous career.

In 2022/23, Chelsea were a mess, but Gallagher impressed throughout. Then, under Mauricio Pochettino’s wing in 2023/24, the Three Lions star came alive, playing an all-encompassing midfield role throughout the term.

Alonso’s methods and principles do not align perfectly with Poch’s, but there are similarities, notably in the two managers’ possession-oriented, high-energy roots.

Gallagher would embrace such a role in Alonso’s system at Spurs, though it’s unlikely that he boasts the artful eye of an elite playmaker, and so would operate in the role assigned to Bentancur, who has been sidelined for three months with a hamstring injury.

Alonso would be a big catch for struggling Spurs, but then so would Gallagher, and he’s headed for north London right now. Should Frank’s position prove untenable in the coming weeks or months, this would be the perfect way to restore and advance the Tottenham project.

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