Thomas Frank’s immediate response to Joao Palhinha’s lack of ‘sharpness’ in Tottenham debut

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Joao Palhinha made his Tottenham debut on Thursday as he suffered a nightmare start against his parent club in pre-season.

Palhinha made the season-long loan switch from Bayern Munich to Spurs this week, facing Bayern in his first Tottenham outing as the German giants ran out 4-0 winners.

Midfielder Palhinha, 30, started the game for Spurs but was adjudged to have fouled Josip Stanisic to concede a 14th-minute penalty. Harry Kane stepped up having already opened the scoring, but missed from the spot.

Bayern led 1-0 at the break, but Palhinha would be replaced at half-time in Spurs’ only change. It was Palhinha’s first game of the summer having fallen out of favour at Bayern and he looked off the pace at times in his run-out.

Thomas Frank backs Joao Palhinha after worrying debut

Despite Palhinha’s slow start in the pre-season defeat, new Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has backed his new man to impress once he gets up to speed.

Asked by reporters after the defeat in Munich whether he was concerned over Palhinha’s lack of sharpness, Frank said the performance was expected after playing just 45 minutes all summer prior to his move to North London.

Frank said: “I think it’s natural – there’s been, how can you say, a very short turnaround. He just came back, and he hasn’t played much for a long time. So, getting 45 good minutes into him was positive. He still needs a bit of a build-up.”

Tottenham next face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday in Udine, where Palhinha could feature again.

Tottenham boss Frank remains coy on signing Heung-min Son replacement

The Bayern Munich game was Tottenham’s first since influential captain Heung-min Son was sold to LAFC after ten years at the club.

Frank was naturally asked about Tottenham’s plans to deal with Son’s departure, where he once again backed Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert to take on some of the creative responsibility. Spurs have since learned that James Maddison’s ACL injury will mean he will miss most of the season as well.

And Frank admitted that the developments could force Tottenham to re-enter the transfer market for a new number ten.

“Sonny was a key player for 10 seasons. He has left the club,” Frank said. “We have both good young players in Mathys [Tel] and Wilson [Odobert] and they are really promising and can perform.

“Brennan [Johnson] can also play that side. As I said, we are in the market. If we think we can find the right one, one who can improve the team, then he will be signed. If we can’t, then not.”