Thomas Frank reveals why Tottenham took a ‘risk’ with early Brennan Johnson sale
Thomas Frank has reflected on Tottenham’s decision to sell Brennan Johnson before bringing in another attacker through the door.
A case can be made that it was Spurs’ lack of attacking options on the bench that cost them two points against Sunderland, especially considering the tired legs from the clash against Brentford on Thursday.
With Xavi Simons suspended, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke injured, and Mohammed Kudus coming with an injury early in the game, Frank had almost no attacking option to turn to on the bench.
That meant Tottenham struggled keep up their intensity the longer the game went on, and the Blackcats grew in confidence, with the away side’s equaliser coming in the 80th minute.
Thomas Frank reflects on Tottenham’s decision to sell Brennan Johnson
What would have undoubtedly helped the North Londoners yesterday is if Frank had Brennan Johnson to call upon when Kudus went down with an injury.
Instead, the winger, who completed a £35m move to Crystal Palace earlier in the week, was lining up for the Eagles at St James’ Park.
When asked about the timing of Johnson’s sale following Kudus’ latest injury, Frank responded (via Football.London): “Yeah. You know, decisions are made and decisions I’m backing in every aspect. There’s always more bigger picture stuff to some of those decisions. Sometimes it can look like perfect timing. Sometimes it looks like not-so-perfect timing.
When asked if he accepts Tottenham took a risk by letting the Wales international leave, the Spurs boss responded: “Yeah, yeah. You know, I think it’s very important [to say] we took the decision before Mo got injured. We don’t know how that looks like. So I think that’s one thing. And sometimes when you take that decision, sometimes you can’t delay them if you want to, for example.”
Frank admits Spurs did not want to pass up on the Johnson sale opportunity
The 52-year-old suggested that the North Londoners had to act swiftly, as the window to get good value for players can be short.
Frank suggested that the Lilywhites were unfortunate that Mohammed Kudus got injured in the one game where the team needed him the most.
When asked to explain the reasoning for letting Johnson go, he said: “I think the depth is one thing. Sometimes, you know, the decisions make more sense further down the line.
“And now there was an opportunity to sell a player, which the club hasn’t been that good at in the past. And sometimes that window can be small, if you want to do that, for example.”
When asked if it leaves Tottenham light in the wide areas, Frank responded: “You can say that if we had Xavi and Mo for today, then I think we have enough. But now we, for this game, didn’t have them. Mo only for, what, 10 minutes? So there’s just some games where you’re very light, and that happens for team.”
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