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Thomas Frank says Tottenham are in the market for an attacking player after losing Richarlison for up to seven weeks with a hamstring injury.
The manager has been without Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison all season – neither is close to a return – and the last thing he needed after the sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace was to have Mohammed Kudus ruled out until April with a thigh problem. The Richarlison setback has compounded matters; the forward was forced off during the FA Cup loss to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Frank, who was unusually specific about the anticipated length of the layoff, has just welcomed back Dominic Solanke from a long-term ankle injury. His other options in attack, as he prepares for Saturday’s Premier League game at home to West Ham, are Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert. Richarlison is Spurs’s top scorer this season with eight, seven of them in the Premier League.
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“Richy unfortunately got a hamstring injury that will keep him out for up to seven weeks,” said Frank, who added that the midfielder Lucas Bergvall could return against West Ham after an unspecified problem. “We are in the market, as I said many times, to see if we can improve the squad but it needs to be something that we improve for the short and long term. It can’t only be for the next four months. We need to think bigger picture as well. But, of course, we know that we are a few offensive players down.”
Frank was asked whether it felt as though any progress made – such as the £34m signing of the midfielder Conor Gallagher, who is in contention to start against West Ham – was immediately offset by another problem, in this case the Richarlison injury.
“It’s not a straightforward road, let me put it that way,” Frank said. “I think we are probably one inch on Micky van de Ven’s head away from a 3-2 winner against Bournemouth [last Wednesday] and we would then have eight points in four games, a bit more momentum. [Instead they lost 3-2].
“It seems like when we get a fit player back, then another one gets injured. That’s football sometimes. We need just to get through the tough spells. There’s only one way forward, that’s keep walking. So be calm, carry on.”
Frank has welcomed John Heitinga on to his coaching staff as the replacement for Matt Wells, who left to become the head coach of Colorado Rapids. Heitinga, who was an assistant to Arne Slot at Liverpool last season, was sacked as the Ajax manager in November. Frank said that he and the sporting directors, Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici, the latter of whom will leave for Fiorentina in February, had driven Heitinga’s appointment.
“It was a process we did together,” Frank said. “Of course, I was a big part of it. He was a standout candidate with everything he’s experienced.”
Spurs have confirmed that Rafi Moersen will join them as their first director of football operations. He is coming in from City Football Group, which oversees a stable of clubs that includes Manchester City. Moersen, who is on gardening leave, will not begin work until before the summer transfer window. Dan Lewindon is due to start as Spurs’s new performance director next month.
