Tottenham have discovered a ‘future £100m’ star who could become their own Saka

Tottenham Hotspur Appointment lapsed Thomas Frank As their new coach ahead of the summer transfer window after they chose to sack Ange Postecoglou from his position.

The Australian won the Europa League at the end of the 2024/25 season, beating Manchester United in the final, but it wasn’t enough for him to save his job.

Daniel Levy, who has since moved on from his role as boss, parted ways with Postecoglou and plucked Frank from Brentford, where he won promotion to the Premier League. Premier League And he created bees in the department.

Four wins, two draws and one defeat in the first seven Premier League matches suggests Tottenham made a good decision when they changed managers this summer.

At its unveiling, The club’s official website He noted that one of the reasons Frank got the job was because he had a proven track record in developing players.

Tottenham will now be hoping they can work wonders with the plethora of talented young players at their disposal in north London, as they did with the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Kevin Shady and Yoan Wissa at Brentford.

Ranking of the most expensive Tottenham players under 21 years old

While Frank can develop players of any age, the powers that be at Spurs may hope he can develop the club’s under-21 players to help them grow in value.

Tottenham have a rich history of developing and selling players. Gareth Bale and Luka Modric, both sold to Real Madrid, are notable examples, while Harry Kane came through the youth ranks before moving to Bayern Munich in 2023 as the club’s all-time top scorer.

The Lilywhites may not have the next Kane at the club at the moment, but they have several exciting young stars who could have a bright future under an outstanding manager like Frank.

Tottenham have four players aged 21 or under in their squad who are currently valued at £17m or more by Transfermarkt, showing that there are many impressive young talents waiting to explode in north London.

As you can see in the table above, Lukas Bergvall is the Under-21s’ most valuable player and has emerged as one of the early favorites under Frank.

The Sweden international has started four of his six Premier League matches this season, scoring one goal and providing one assist, demonstrating the manager’s admiration for him.

Tottenham will hope Bergvall can capitalize on this exposure to regular starts in the Championship to emerge as a star for Frank in midfield.

Currently worth £33m, Archie Gray is the same Swedish star, but he has made just two appearances and one start in the Premier League so far this season.

While Bergvall is Frank’s preferred Under-21 player at the club at the moment, the England Under-21 international has the potential to develop into a Bukayo Saka talent for Tottenham if he is given more playing time in his preferred position.

How Archie Gray Bukayo Saka could become a Tottenham player

At the beginning of Saka’s career with Arsenal, Mikel Arteta played with the English star at left-back 21 times, in midfield five times, and in left midfield 29 times, according to Transfermarkt.

This shows that the left-footed youngster had to play in several roles before earning a regular place in his preferred position on the right flank, where he scored 47 goals and provided 40 assists in 137 appearances.

Gray has struggled with his versatility throughout his career thus far. 30 of his 49 appearances for Leeds came at right-back. 34 of his appearances with Tottenham came as right-back, centre-back or left-back. Meanwhile, he started just 13 matches as a midfielder, his preferred role at the time, according to Transfermarkt.

The No.13 starts as a central midfielder, a position he grew up playing in at academy level, and after more than two years as a first-team player for Leeds and Tottenham, he shows he has not had many opportunities to develop into his long-term position.

Gray finally had the opportunity to play in central midfield for England Under-21s against Moldova last week and caught the eye with an impressive all-round display in the middle of the park.

As you can see in the table above, the 19-year-old star performed admirably on and off the ball, being effective as a passer and dribbler, while also being almost perfect defensively.

This shows that he has the ability to produce quality performances as a midfielder, despite playing in many other positions before his best position at senior level to date.

Gray, who Under-23s scout Antonio Mango claimed was “born to play football”, could realize his potential at Tottenham if Frank plays him in his best role over a long run of games.

Analyst Ben Mattinson once claimed that the England Under-21 international is “The future is £100 million“, which is not a crazy prediction when you consider that he is currently worth £33m, having barely played in his natural position.

Gray has 30 Premier League games experience, having won the Europa League with Tottenham, but the next step for him is a regular place in the starting XI in midfield.

Frank could, then, discover a player of his own Saka type as the former Leeds star could follow in the Arsenal star’s footsteps by moving from playing out of full-back to being a star in his natural position.