JOÃO PALHINHA ADDS MUCH-NEEDED STEEL TO SPURS' MIDFIELD, BUT IS HIS PASSING TOO LIMITED?
With Bayern Munich midfielder João Palhinha close to signing for Tottenham Hotspur on loan, we look at why Thomas Frank wants to bring him back to the Premier League. FIRST NORTH LONDON DERBY OUTSIDE ENGLAND The first ever north London derby played outside England took place on Thursday in Hong Kong, where Tottenham beat Arsenal 1-0. Although it was only a friendly, if such a thing exists between these two teams, it was notable not only as technically Thomas Frank's first NLD as Spurs manager. Frank also faced a man who was his captain just a few weeks ago. Christian Nørgaard played 68 minutes for his new club Arsenal after being such an integral part of Frank's Brentford in recent years. NØRGAARD'S LEGACY AT BRENTFORD Only Bryan Mbeumo (11,218 minutes) played more minutes for Frank in the Premier League than Nørgaard (10,171). Nobody won possession as many times for Brentford last season as Nørgaard (193), while only center-back Nathan Collins (63.0%) won a higher ...