Frank admits he wants new players who will ‘play for the badge’ as Spurs struggle to find incomings before transfer deadline.
Tottenham only want players committed to club’s ‘fantastic badge’, says Frank.
As the Eberechi Eze story comes to an end, Thomas Frank has stated unequivocally that he only wants players at Tottenham who are dedicated to the team’s “fantastic badge.”
Spurs thought they had a deal with the player as well after reaching one with Crystal Palace on Wednesday for the move of the England front. However, a few hours later, Arsenal overtook them and is now ready to declare his entrance in a £67.5 million agreement. It has been an experience Spurs would prefer to forget, if it is a coup for Arsenal and a dream move for Eze, who grew up cheering for the team.
They lost their July attempt to sign Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest, and they are without James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, their two primary central attacking midfielders. Both have chronic wounds.
Frank’s press conference on Friday, which was supposed to be a preview of Saturday’s Premier League visit to Manchester City, did not mention address Eze. However, it was difficult to believe that he did not have Eze in mind when he delivered the message he had for the club’s supporters.
“There has been a lot of links,” Frank said. “There’ll be a lot of links in the future. And just to generalise that … to make it very, very clear … I don’t want any players that don’t want to come to the club. Who don’t want to wear this fantastic badge. We don’t want them here.
“That’s very clear and I’m also pretty sure that the fans will feel the same. If they [the signings] don’t want to put the fantastic shirt over their head, play for the badge, play for the club, really enjoy it, no problem. We don’t want them. I think that’s a key message.”