Thomas Frank names the Tottenham signing who has been ‘very good’ since joining Spurs

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has heaped praise on one of his summer signings following Wednesday’s win against Doncaster Rovers.

Tottenham beat Doncaster 3-0 in the Carabao Cup to set up a fourth-round tie with Newcastle United.

Mohammed Kudus was rested, but there were minutes for fellow signings Joao Palhinha and Xavi Simons.

Palhinha opened the scoring for Spurs with an overhead kick, while Simons finished the game with seven key passes to his name.

• READ MORE: What Joao Palhinha made abundantly clear to Tottenham before agreeing loan deal

Joao Palhinha ‘very good’ since joining Tottenham

Unsurprisingly, after scoring a great goal and starting the game out of position, Palhinha was a talking point in Frank’s post-match press conference.

The Dane used the midfielder in central defence and was asked about that and the player’s goal after the game.

Speaking to football.london and other outlets, Frank said: “Very happy. He has been very good for us since he joined us. Again, just stepping into that centre-back role and played very well and scored a very good goal. So yeah, pleased.”

The former Brentford boss also gave an injury update on Pape Matar Sarr, who missed the game. Spurs fans do not have too much to worry about, with Frank confirming that Sarr is only carrying a small niggle.

While Palhinha did a good job against Doncaster, you would expect him to return to midfield when Tottenham take on Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend.

Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are Spurs’ first-choice centre-half pairing, and there is no need for that to change while both men remain fit.

How Tottenham fans reacted to Joao Palhinha starting in defence against Doncaster

Palhinha has spent his whole career playing as a midfielder. According to Transfermarkt, more than 300 of his appearances have come in the middle of the park.

Ultimately, it was quite a surprise to see Frank use him as a central defender in that win against Doncaster.

Tottenham fans were certainly shocked by Frank’s decision, expressing that on social media. In the end, though, everything worked out for the Europa League winners, who now have a fourth-round tie against Premier League rivals Newcastle to look forward to next month.