Tottenham Hotspur’s impressive start to the 2025/26 campaign is huge credit to new boss Thomas Frank, with the Dane making an immediate impact since taking the reins.
The 51-year-old has won four of his first five competitive outings in charge of the Lilywhites – a record that sees the side sit third in the Premier League table.
However, most impressive of all, he’s managed to put an immediate fix to their defensive woes, conceding just once in the process and keeping four clean sheets.
It’s certainly early days, but the new boss has taken to the role like a duck to water – allowing the fanbase to rapidly forget about last season’s 15th-placed finish in England’s top-flight.
If he is to be a consistent success during his tenure in North London, he may rely upon numerous high-profile talents in the years ahead, with multiple of which currently in their youth ranks.
The Spurs youngsters who could make the jump into the first-team
The injury crisis last campaign opened up opportunities for young talent to stake their claim for a first-team role – with Dane Scarlett one of the beneficiaries.
The 21-year-old returned from his loan spell at Championship side Oxford United, making five appearances and making an immediate impact under Ange Postecoglou.
He registered a goal and two assists for the Lilywhites, with two of his contributions coming in one Europa League outing against Elfsborg back in January.
18-year-old Mikey Moore was another talent catapulted into the limelight due to the injury crisis, subsequently making 19 first-team appearances in 2024/25.
However, despite his tender age, he made a serious impact on the squad and on the fanbase, becoming a regular appearance maker under Postecoglou.
Moore scored his first senior goal during his first professional campaign, but is currently spending the year out on loan at Rangers to gain valuable game time to aid his development.
Such talents highlight the quality of youth stars brewing under the surface, but Frank won’t be able to rely upon one player after his departure from North London in recent times.
The Spurs player who was sold for just £1m
The impact of Spurs’ academy can’t be overstated, especially given the top-level talents it’s produced – none more so than talisman Harry Kane.
He may now be a Bayern Munich player, but he was a fan-favourite in North London, scoring 280 times, which still sees him sit top of their all-time goalscoring charts.
Such numbers are a dream for any manager, but Frank will undoubtedly wish that he had been able to rely upon such a clinical goalscorer – but unfortunately, he will never get that opportunity.
The same could be said about winger Marcus Edwards, with the Englishman once seen as one of the hottest young prospects in world football – but it’s safe to say his career hasn’t gone the way many expected.
He joined the club at the age of eight, spending all of his youth years on the books in North London, only making one senior appearance in the EFL Cup back in 2016/17.
As a result of his rise through the academy setup, former boss Mauricio Pochettino labelled the forward “a young Messi” – a huge heap of praise which he’s ultimately failed to live up to.
Edwards would join Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes in the summer of 2019 for a compensation fee of just £1m, subsequently making over 100 appearances and gaining valuable senior experience.
Statistics (per 90)
Tally
Games played
26
Goals scored
5
Assists
1
Progressive carries
5
Progressive passes
5.1
Shots taken
3.5
Fouls won
2.9
Goals & assists per 90
0.3
Such a spell would result in a transfer to Sporting CP in January 2022, starring under Ruben Amorim, before moving to Burnley to aid their promotion push in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
He subsequently joined Scott Parker’s side on a permanent basis this summer, but has once again struggled for minutes, only making one substitute appearance in the Premier League to date.
At 26, there’s no denying his career has failed to lift off as many people tipped it to, potentially suffering from the huge amount of expectations placed on him as a teenager.
Now plying his trade for the Clarets in England’s top-flight, he has the opportunity to make his mark, but he will need more regular game time in the near future to help him resurrect his once-promising career.