Thomas Frank was fired by Tottenham Hotspur, ending his short stint in charge. He had previously been linked to Manchester United.
Manchester United are assessing the manager market for the third time within a two-year span, after sacking Ruben Amorim earlier this year.
This time Thomas Frank will not be an option – despite the fact he is now actually available.
Frank was of interest to Manchester United at two different points in 2024.
He finally landed his big job in 2025, hired by Tottenham Hotspur. But after an unhappy stint in North London, Frank was fired this week, after they slumped to 16th place in the Premier League.
Frank’s Tottenham had lost 2-0 to Michael Carrick’s Manchester United days earlier.
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Manchester United’s previous links to Thomas Frank
Although Thomas Frank’s managerial record was a modest one, his work with Brentford on a limited budget commanded respect.
Manchester United were among the top teams to take note of Frank’s accomplishments, which look a little less impressive now considering how well Keith Andrews has done at Brentford since replacing him.
After Manchester United’s 2024 FA Cup win, Ineos embarked on a wide-ranging managerial hunt before deciding to continue with Erik ten Hag.
Frank later confirmed rumours that he held an interview with United, along with Chelsea, who had just fired Mauricio Pochettino.
He told foreign outlet TV 2 Sport: “Sitting down to talk to two of the ten biggest clubs in the world – two hours apart – is quite unique. I know I didn’t get either job, but it was still huge.”
Manchester United were looking for a replacement for Erik ten Hag months later after firing him in late October 2024.
The Athletic reported how Thomas Frank was one name recommended by former sporting director Dan Ashworth, among a shortlist he compiled.
The other names were Graham Potter, Marco Silva, Eddie Howe, with The Mail reporting he also favoured Gareth Southgate.
This led to a split in the boardroom with Omar Berrada pushing for Ruben Amorim, with Ashworth opposed to the idea.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe decided to fire Ashworth amid ‘tensions’, one month after Amorim was appointed.
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Two pundits disagreed over Thomas Frank
Ruben Amorim’s lack of Premier League experience counted against him ultimately. And this was one of the reasons Dan Ashworth was in favour of hiring a manager like Thomas Frank.
Frank’s struggles at Tottenham Hotspur highlighted the fallacy of Premier League experience being a magic solution as a tonic to Amorim’s United struggles.
Differing opinions were cited in 2024 about Thomas Frank by two former Manchester United players.
Paul Scholes told Premier League media that he felt the Red Devils’ job was too much for Frank.
“Most of these managers, they’ve been at clubs where the expectation probably is not as high. I look at Thomas Frank and I see that. He might be a very capable manager for Manchester United but expectations are not [at Brentford] what they are at Manchester United.”
Scholes’ former teammate Tim Howard was a lot more intrigued about the idea of hiring the Dane.
“His teams are creative with set pieces, they build out of the back, they press at a really high tempo – and, without any disrespect, he’s done that at Brentford.
“Can you imagine what he could do with world-class players?”
Frank’s recent failure at Tottenham will ultimately count him out of the vacant role at Manchester United.
If United were not convinced first time around, there is now even more doubt attached to his name.
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