Thomas Frank’s Tottenham tenure got off to the perfect start as his new side opened pre-season with a 2-0 win over Reading.
Two teenagers were on target at the Select Car Leasing Stadium in Berkshire, with Will Lankshear and Luka Vuskovic both staking excellent claims for more minutes on their first-team audition.
Frank, who arrived in north London from Premier League rivals Brentford last month, oversaw his first Spurs game, and he will have seen plenty that he will have liked, and plenty that he will want to improve.
Spurs were in control in the first half, dealing with Reading’s physicality and dogged determination well in the grey and muggy conditions, but they could not muster a goal to rubberstamp their dominance in the opening exchanges.
Dominic Solanke went close with an improvised effort, while Pape Matar Sarr was denied from point-blank range by former Manchester United goalkeeper Joel Pereira on the stroke of half-time.
Frank had hinted in his pre-match press conference that he would select two XIs for either half, and that is precisely what he did.
Cristian Romero captained one team in the first half, and Heung-Min Son skippered the side in the second.
Romero went close with a header in first-half stoppage time, but Spurs went in at the break goalless.
Their fortunes would change almost instantaneously, with Lankshear powering home a Vuskovic flick-on from Kudus’ corner inside 49 minutes, and the Frank reign was up and running.
Vuskovic turned scorer just four minutes later as he swept home into the far corner beyond Pereira’s clasp, and he was set up by new boy Mohammed Kudus, who dazzled at times on debut.
The Ghanaian, who has just arrived from West Ham for £55million, showed terrific skill tight to the touchline in his right-wing berth, which could indicate where Frank sees him in his system this term.
The Dane plumped for a 4-2-3-1 shape in both halves, and he gave youngsters Alfie Devine and Jamie Donley, both of who shone out on loan, a chance in the No10 position in the absence of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski.
Job done for Frank, but he will be going straight back to the drawing board to prepare for Luton next weekend, before the heat gets cranked up further against Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
A promising start.
