Portugal Colonial - Tottenham hire Brentford's Frank as new manager

Frank agreed a three-year contract with Tottenham and becomes the north London club's fourth permanent boss since June 2021.

"We are delighted to announce the appointment of Thomas Frank as our new head coach on a contract that runs until 2028," a Tottenham statement said.

"In Thomas we are appointing one of the most progressive and innovative head coaches within the game.

"He has a proven track record in player and squad development and we look forward to him leading the team as we prepare for the season ahead."

Tottenham set their sights on Frank after chairman Daniel Levy axed Postecoglou last week, just 16 days after he won the Europa League final against Manchester United to end the club's 17-year trophy drought.

Frank is the 14th permanent manager of Levy's 24-year tenure.

Levy made an official approach to Brentford earlier this week, with the deal concluded after Tottenham agreed to allow the Dane to hire his Bees assistant coach Justin Cochrane.

Frank's Brentford contract was set to run until 2027, with a reported release clause of about £10 million ($13.6 million).

The 51-year-old led Brentford back to the top flight in 2021 after an absence of 74 years and has established the west London club in the Premier League.

Now he will be tasked with lifting Tottenham back among the Premier League's elite.

Tottenham will play in the Champions League next season thanks to their Europa League success in Bilbao, where they beat Manchester United 1-0.

However, Postecoglou paid the price for a miserable Premier League season as Tottenham finished 17th after losing 22 of their 38 games.

Frank began his coaching career in the youth set-up of the Danish national team before a three-year stint at Brondby.

He initially joined Brentford as an assistant coach before stepping to replace Dean Smith, when he left to join Aston Villa.

After losing out in the 2020 Championship play-off final, Brentford bounced back to win promotion through the play-offs a year later.

Since then, the Bees have finished 13th, ninth, 16th and 10th despite consistently selling some of their best players.

O.Gaspar--PC