Thomas Frank and Harry Kane may not have crossed paths at Tottenham Hotspur, but fans will always remember when their manager defended their former striker long before he joined.
Frank became Tottenham manager this summer, leaving Brentford to replace Ange Postecoglou. Kane, meanwhile, departed for Bayern Munich in 2023, going on to win the Bundesliga with them last season.
Spurs fans have often considered how well Kane would have done under the Danish manager, but that is something that isn’t in the pipeline at this moment in time.
However, Frank has a history of standing up for Tottenham and England’s all-time top goalscorer, and his defence of Kane during the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 campaign was an early indicator he would be welcomed with open arms by the Spurs faithful.
Thomas Frank defended Harry Kane amid heavy criticism at Euro 2024
Kane was on the receiving end of heavy criticism from fans and pundits alike after struggling to find the net at Euro 2024 with many complaining about his positioning. After England were held 1-1 by Denmark in the group stages, Gary Lineker took issue with him dropping deep, with Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards agreeing.
Frank leapt to Kane’s defence, saying: “But isn’t that what he’s done the last four or five years? He just needs runners around him. I think he’s doing what he’s [always] done and done very well, but he needs the runners.”
Richards then questioned if Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon would provide more runs in behind the defence for Kane to find.
Frank responded: “Maybe yeah, or have [Phil] Foden going, or Jude [Bellingham] going.”
Spurs fans still remember this moment, with a number bringing it up again as Kane finished 13th in this year’s Ballon d’Or awards.
One said: “By the way, I’ll never forget when the whole entire BBC panel were slaughtering Harry Kane during last Euros. Lineker and [Alan] Shearer saying he drops deep too much, Micah Richards saying he should be dropped for Ollie Watkins.
“Only one man in the studio defended Kane and that was Thomas Frank. He said it’s hard for a striker to perform when the other 10 players aren’t playing to the standard expected. I’ll never forget that. Summer 2026 hopefully we can see Kane and Frank be able to work together.”
Another said: “Trying really hard not to be biased/overreact but…Kane in this team under this manager…So much has changed since he left that circus.”
Harry Kane’s new Bayern Munich transfer release clause emerges, he could return to Tottenham
German outlet Bild have revealed Kane could make a blockbuster return to the Premier League this summer due to a release clause coming into effect despite him having two years left on his deal.
The clause indicates Kane can leave for £56.7million as long as he states his intention to leave before the end of the January transfer window.
There are no current indications that Spurs are interested in activating that, but it will give Premier League clubs something to think about.
Kane is only 47 goals off of Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record of 260, after all.
Receive a digest of our best Spurs content each week direct to your mailbox
