Spare a thought for Frank
- Published
Thomas Frank has had time to brace himself for Son Heung-min's departure, but the long-term unavailability of Maddison arrives a as bolt out of the blue.
Son's farewell match in South Korea earlier this week was marred by the latest knee injury suffered by Maddison.
The anguished expression on the midfielder's face said it all.
The sympathy belongs to him. Last season was cut short by an injury to the same knee, a blow that robbed him of playing in the Europa League final win over Manchester United.
But spare a thought for Frank, who in his first season in charge, faces losing two key attacking players – one forever and the other for a long period.
You would imagine now that Spurs will give big consideration to entering the market for a new attacking midfielder.
Had their move for Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White ended successfully then the requirement to enter the market for offensive reinforcements would be significantly less pressing.
Such attacking quality is hard to come by. Expensive, too.
Summer signing from West Ham Mohamed Kudus has played centrally before and could provide an option.
But Spurs will have to do something to replace Maddison's contribution.
What should Tottenham do?
