'Never ever' - Thomas Frank hits back at Eberechi Eze 'inspiration' after Tottenham beat Man City despite being snubbed by £67.5m Arsenal star

Just when it looked like Eze would swap Crystal Palace for Tottenham, Arsenal hijacked the move, with the 27-year-old joining for £60 million ($81m) plus add-ons on Saturday. Before he was unveiled at the Emirates, Spurs impressively put City to the sword in a 2-0 victory at the Etihad. After the match, head coach Frank said the Eze snub did not come into his thinking ahead of the clash with Pep Guardiola's side.

When asked if he used the Eze transfer snub as 'inspiration' for Tottenham this week, he replied: "I think that's very, very easy [to answer]. I never ever use one word about any player that's not at our club."

Losing out on a player of Eze's quality is undoubtedly a blow for Tottenham, especially as they need a playmaker to cover for the injured James Maddison. But the result at City showed Spurs have a new steeliness to them under Frank. However, they do need more quality additions if they want to finish in the upper echelons of the Premier League this season.

Time is running out for Tottenham to bring in some new recruits before the summer transfer window shuts on September 1. Before then, this unbeaten Spurs team host Bournemouth next Saturday in the Premier League.