FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED from Frank's Tottenham bow: How new £55m man Kudus got on

Thomas Frank’s Tottenham reign started with a 2-0 win in a preseason friendly at Reading before a crowd of more than 22,000.

Frank used 22 players who each had 45 minutes. It was goalless at half-time and Will Lankshear and Luka Vuskovic scored the goals, early in the second half, watched by chairman Daniel Levy in the front row of the directors’ box, sat next to technical director Johan Lange.

Here are five things we learned.

1) A shape of things to come

The first glimpse into Frank’s tactical plans came from the shape and he used a 4-2-3-1 formation in both halves, with fairly orthodox full-backs, two deep in midfielder and a number 10.

Alfie Devine, 20 years old and back from a season on loan at Westerlo in Belgium, was deployed as the number 10 in the first half. After the break it was Jamie Donley, also 20, also back from a season on loan, in his case at Leyton Orient. But it is easy to see how James Maddison or Morgan Gibbs-White, if they can complete his signing from Nottingham Forest, might slot into that role.

Maddison, who missed the end of last season with a knee injury, was among those absent at Reading. He is still behind others on the preseason training schedule. Dejan Kulusevski might eventually come into this equation, too, but he is recovering from a serious knee injury and will miss the start of the new season.

For the record, the line-ups…

First half: Kinsky; Porro, Romero, Danso, Udogie; Sarr, Bentancur; Johnson, Devine, Moore; Solanke.

Second half: Vicario; Spence, Vuskovic, Van de Ven, Davies; Bergvall, Bissouma; Kudus, Donley, Son; Lankshear.

2) New faces looking the part

There has been an excitable preamble to the arrival of teenage centre half Vuskovic from Hajduk Split via loan spells in Poland and Belgium, and fans were not disappointed as the 18-year-old centre half marked his first appearance in a Spurs shirt with a goal and an assist.

The tall Croatian, who made his senior international debut in June, flicked on a corner by Mohamed Kudus for Lankshear to head in the opener, then advanced to sweep in the second with his left foot from a pass by Kudus.

Vuskovic, who played only the second half, deployed in tandem with Micky van de Ven, scored seven from central defence for Westerlo in Belgium last season.

Kudus was involved in the goals and sharp on the ball. The first flash of him in full flow came 12 minutes from the end, jinking past a couple of challenges inside his own half and, with a change of pace, carrying the ball forward down the right win before picking out Donley, who fired wide.

3) Serious about set-pieces

After all the criticism of set pieces during Ange Postecoglou’s tenure, Frank wants us to know this is an area he is very serious about. A lengthy part of the pre-match warm-up routine involved the entire starting XI defending set pieces delivered from various angles by teenager George Abbott, one of four unused subs, with the Spurs coaching staff mimicking the attacking side.

Still, Reading’s main threats came from set pieces, one scare with a free kick delivered by Charlie Savage in the first half and a cluster of corners in the second half.

Tottenham broke the deadlock directly from a corner, taken by Kudus, flicked on by Vuskovic and headed in by Lankshear at close range. The second came from a recycled corner, with Vuskovic still lurking up front in the penalty area.

4) Looming tug of glove

We shouldn’t at this stage to read too far into Antonin Kinsky starting the first half rather than Guglielmo Vicario because this was a large squad swirled up into two teams to play 45 minutes each, but Frank has a decision to make in goal.

Kinsky certainly looked comfortable with the ball at his feet here, and Frank clearly asked his team to play out from the back where possible. Vicario struggled and was prone to mistakes after returning from a broken ankle last season.

He has also had his well-documented problems from set-pieces but is one of the dressing room leaders and made a terrific save in the closing stages at Reading. It is a big call for the new boss and he won’t want to rush into it.

5) Still lacking up front

Richarlison was the most notable absentee and a reminder that there is no obvious cover for Dominic Solanke at centre forward. Richarlison must be the first option but cannot be relied upon to be fit and available.

Lankshear, 20, is a natural centre forward who made little impression on loan at West Bromwich Albion in the second half of last season but found the target here soon after coming on. Mathys Tel did not look entirely comfortable as a centre forward last season. Kudus will provide another option although is probably not a natural in that role as they found at West Ham last season.

Son Heung-min, another with experience in the role, could be gone before the end of the transfer window. Frank did nothing to quash the theory when he spoke on Friday. Son was one of the last to report back for training and looked sluggish when he came on for the second half, especially compared with the zip of Kudus on the opposite flank.

Son’s touch was heavy and he miscued a volley he might have taken when at his sharpest.

Lucas Bergvall also looked rusty, making errors on the ball deep in midfield in the second half. But these things won’t worry the new boss as he experiments with combinations and partnerships in different areas of the team to find out where there is chemistry and understanding to carry out his instructions.

P.S.

Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Tel are all on a delayed schedule after being given more time off following their roles in the U21s Euros and trained at the training ground. Kota Takai has only recently received his work permit and started to train after a move from Kawasaki Frontale in Japan, so is not fully integrated.

Maddison is not yet training with the team after his knee ligament injury at the end of last season. Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin are some way behind after serious knee injuries this year.

Bryan Gil, who has no future at Spurs, is in Spain undergoing rehab on an injury. Manor Solomon and Dane Scarlett were also absent.