Mohammed Kudus has been putting in the work on the Tottenham training pitch(Image: Tottenham Hotspur YouTube)

Kudus debut, Son starts and Bergvall returns - Thomas Frank's strongest Tottenham XI vs Reading

by · football.london

Here we take a look at what Thomas Frank's strongest Tottenham XI for Saturday's pre-season friendly against Reading is

Thomas Frank will be in the dugout for the first time as Tottenham head coach on Saturday. Spurs start their pre-season fixtures with a game away at League One side Reading.

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the new Tottenham boss after getting down to work with his squad at the club's Hotspur Way base. Using the time to get his football philosophy across and take a good look at his players as they fight for a position in his starting XI, Saturday's game in Berkshire will give a glimpse of what's to come for Spurs under the Dane.

The 51-year-old currently has the vast majority of his squad to work with due to no senior international football tournaments taking place this summer. Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore and Mathys Tel will be the last to return after playing international football until the end of June.

Due to the sheer size of his squad, Frank will want to take a closer look at his players on the pitch before any final transfer decisions are made. Although his starting XI may be a bit mix and match at Reading, Frank can actually go extremely strong if he wants to see his best Tottenham team in action at the first time of asking.

Here we take a look at the strongest team he can field at the Select Car Leasing Stadium this weekend.

Goalkeeper - Guglielmo Vicario

Guglielmo Vicario is Tottenham's first-choice goalkeeper but Antonin Kinsky will be pushing him hard.(Image: Paul Harding/Getty Images)

Right-back - Pedro Porro

Pedro Porro has competition from Djed Spence for the right-back spot but it's his position at present.(Image: (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))

Centre-back - Cristian Romero

Cristian Romero is one of the first names on the teamsheet for Tottenham.(Image: Getty Images)

Centre-back - Micky van de Ven

Micky van de Ven starts alongside Cristian Romero as ever. The hope will be that the Dutchman remains fit for a prolonged period after his absences over the past two seasons.

Left-back - Destiny Udogie

Destiny Udogie is Tottenham's first-choice left-back. Djed Spence has proved in his absence that he can really push him for his place in the team.(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Central midfield - Rodrigo Bentancur

Rodrigo Bentancur is another automatic starter for Tottenham and it probably is a question of who joins him in the middle of the park.(Image: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Central midfield - Lucas Bergvall

Lucas Bergvall should be winning the race to partner Rodrigo Bentancur after a terrific first season in N17.(Image: Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Right-wing - Brennan Johnson

Thomas Frank will finally have the opportunity to work with Brennan Johnson after trying to sign him multiple times at Brentford. The Wales international was pivotal to Spurs' 2024/25 campaign and it may well be the case again.(Image: Vasile Mihai-Antonio/Getty Images)

Attacking midfield - Mohammed Kudus

Mohammed Kudus looks set to make his Tottenham debut on Saturday. Amid question marks over when exactly James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski will return from injury, the Ghana international could be a contender to play as a No.10.
He has a wealth of experience operating in central areas and it is something Thomas Frank may consider.(Image: Tottenham Hotspur FC)

Left-wing - Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min remains a Tottenham player for now amid talk of a summer exit after a decade in the capital. He has competition for a place on the left from Richarlison and Mathys Tel once the France Under-21 international returns from his summer break.(Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Striker - Dominic Solanke

Dominic Solanke could thrive in Thomas Frank's system providing that his fellow attackers give him the ball in the right positions. He enjoyed an impressive debut season under Ange Postecoglou but hopefully there will be more goals this time around.(Image: Tottenham Hotspur)