Former Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy made the bold decision to part ways with head coach Ange Postecoglou after the club won the Europa League at the end of last season.
The dismal Premier League form, which resulted in a 17th-placed finish, was enough to see the former Celtic boss lose his job, and Thomas Frank was brought in to replace him.
The Danish tactician has won five, drawn two, and lost two of his first nine matches in charge of the Lilywhites, in what has been a fairly impressive start to life in North London.
Frank will not have been happy with his side’s performance in their 1-1 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out in the Premier League, though, as they needed a last-gasp equaliser from Joao Palhinha to snatch a point.
Levy backed the new head coach in the transfer market with a host of new signings, including Palhinha, before he moved on from the club after the summer transfer window.
One of the summer signings who has divided opinions among the fanbase so far this season is former West Ham United attacker Mohammed Kudus.
Why Spurs need to see more from Mohammed Kudus
The Europa League champions swooped to sign the Ghana international from their Premier League rivals for a fee of £55m in the summer, hoping to improve their attack.
There have been flashes of quality from the left-footed star early on in his Spurs career, with three assists in six Premier League matches to date.
His best moment in a Spurs shirt so far was his assist for Richarlison’s wonder goal against Burnley on the opening day of the season, with a lightning-quick change of direction to create space for a cross for the Brazilian striker.
His three assists, though, have come from one ‘big chance’ created and an xA of 1.09. This suggests that he has been slightly fortunate to have been rewarded with as many assists as he has.
Kudus’ assist against Brighton is perhaps an example of that fortune, as the winger appeared to be going for goal with a shot that fell to the feet of Richarlison, who bundled the ball in from close range.
Minutes
90
90
Shots
2
2
Dribbles completed
6/12
5/10
Key passes
2
1
Assists
0
1
Duels won
8/20
8/24
Possession lost
27x
22x
As you can see in the table above, the £55m signing from West Ham has been incredibly wasteful in the last two matches for Spurs against Brighton and Wolves, losing the ball a staggering 49 times in 180 minutes.
To create only three chances for the team whilst losing the ball 49 times suggests that Kudus is not providing enough quality in his end product, as a dribbler or as a creator.
His lack of threat as a goalscorer is also a cause for concern. Kudus has yet to score from 1.01 xG in the Premier League for Spurs, which comes after he scored just five goals from 6.90 xG for West Ham in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore.
Therefore, Tottenham and Frank need to see more from the winger on the ball and in the final third, because his current lack of goals and his wastefulness in possession are not ideal.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Spurs, though, do have a young talent emerging in their academy who could have the potential to replace the £55m signing in the mid-to-long-term.
Luca Williams-Barnett made his first-team debut for the club against Doncaster in the League Cup earlier this month at the age of just 16, and he could be a future star in North London.
Why Luca Williams-Barnett could replace Mohammed Kudus
The versatile attacker got eight minutes of senior football under his belt off the bench in that match, which shows that he is in Frank’s thoughts and has done enough at academy level to warrant a chance in the first-team.
Williams-Barnett’s form for the club at youth level has been sensational and suggests that the Lilywhites have a major talent on their hands that they need to carefully develop.
Described by analyst Ben Mattinson as “one of England’s best talents at youth level”, the 16-year-old talent has started the 2025/26 campaign with a return of six goals and four assists in all competitions, including a hat-trick for the U21s against Leicester City earlier this month.
Williams-Barnett predominantly plays through the middle as a number ten, per Transfermarkt, but he has also been deployed out wide on the left and the right during his youth career in North London.
The teenage sensation was described as a “pure talent” with “silky dribbling” by U23 scout Antonio Mango. Talent scout Jacek Kulig, meanwhile, hailed him as the figurehead of an “exciting” generation of young talents at Spurs.
Appearances
23
8
Minutes
1857
599
Goals
20
6
Minutes per goal
93
100
Assists
12
4
Minutes per assist
155
150
Minutes per goal contribution
58
60
It is easy to understand why talent scouts are so excited by the potential of Williams-Barnett when you look at his statistics in the table above, because he has averaged a goal or an assist every hour of football at youth level since the start of last season.
These statistics show that he provides a regular threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals for Spurs at U21 and U18 level, which earned him a first-team debut against Doncaster.
The next step for Williams-Barnett in his development is to make his Premier League debut and show that he can translate his attacking prowess to first-team level.
Given that Kudus is yet to fully convince on the right flank and that the youngster has played out wide at academy level, unleashing the 16-year-old star on the right wing could be one way to plot a pathway into the team for him.
There is no rush for that to happen this week or next month, or even this year. He only turns 17 on Wednesday and has plenty of time left ahead of him, but his impressive progression at youth level suggests that Frank has a Kudus replacement in the making.