Mohammed Kudus’s decision to move to Tottenham read like a considered career step rather than a rash transfer. After joining West Ham United in 2023 and establishing himself as a leading attacking outlet in east London, he drew interest from multiple suitors this summer. In interviews as a Spurs player he made his preference clear: “only” Tottenham.

Kudus says that clarity came from Thomas Frank’s reputation as a developer of attackers. He pointed to Frank’s work at Brentford and named a string of forwards whose goal returns increased under the Danish coach. The comparison is stark: Bryan Mbeumo went from 10 to 20 goals, Ivan Toney from 24 to 31, Ollie Watkins from 13 to 25, Saïd Benrahma from 9 to 17, and Yoane Wissa from 15 to 19.

That progression fed Kudus’s belief that Frank could accelerate his own growth. “Looking at his work at Brentford with attackers. I can name so many; [Bryan] Mbeumo, Ivan Toney, [Mikkel] Damsgaard. So many attackers I’ve seen his development with them has been really, really massive.

“So I thought that he’d be the perfect guy to help with my development. And how he wants his attackers to play, I think I have the qualities to play like that and that’s how I want to play.”

Frank’s coaching produced outsized transfer fees and moves for some forwards. The draft notes Yoane Wissa joined west London in 2021 with limited top-flight experience and later moved to Newcastle United on Deadline Day for £55 million ($74.1 million), more than six times his prior fee.

Kudus accepts the demands that come with Frank’s methods. “He’s a very demanding coach, offensively and defensively.

“One of my major attributes is getting the ball one-v-one and taking players on. The team try to put me in positions to do that which helps a lot. Just try to create as much as I can, but defensively as always he expects a lot, of course.”

Defensive work and high pressing are non-negotiable. “We press high, whichever opposition we play,” he says of Tottenham’s style. “We press really, really high and that comes with a lot of running demands and high interesting movements and stuff like that, too. The demand from him is very high but it really, really helps the team and you can see that from some of the games already.”

For Kudus, Frank’s track record at Brentford provided the persuasive case. It was enough to make Tottenham the clear next step.

Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty for the second time this season as Manchester United were beaten 3-1 by Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The spot kick followed a clumsy tug from Nathan Collins on Bryan Mbeumo in the 71st minute after Igor Thiago had struck twice in the first half. Almost five minutes passed before Fernandes was allowed to take the penalty. The delay, attributed to VAR and Brentford substitutions, appeared to affect the set piece and Caoimhin Kelleher saved a low effort to his left.

Kelleher has saved an impressive four of the seven penalties he has faced in his senior career, a statistic that underlined why the save was not entirely surprising.

This season alone, the Portuguese playmaker has missed two spot kicks, as many as the rest of the Premier League combined. Since Fernandes’s debut in the competition in February 2020, Mohamed Salah has been wayward with a surprisingly high five attempts, a tally matched by Aleksandar Mitrović while James Ward-Prowse has squandered four spot kicks.

Fernandes arrived at Old Trafford with a strong record from 12 yards, converting 13 of his first 14 in the competition with a deceptive hopping technique. He has acknowledged the need to adapt his routine. “When you take so many penalties, then you need to change, because the goalkeepers start looking at you, studying you,” he mused earlier this year. “I feel more comfortable doing the jump and waiting for the goalkeeper to make a decision. I think this is the more accurate one,” he explained. “But if I have to change it, I do it differently, to not give anything away to them.”

United’s squad includes two players with perfect career penalty records. Mason Mount has scored both of his efforts and Benjamin Šeško is yet to miss from 11 attempts. Šeško was the last outfield player to take a penalty during United’s shootout against Grimsby Town last month after suffering cramp, and he scored. Now it may be time for Ruben Amorim to make a change of his own.

Ruben Amorim admitted Manchester United had worked on defending long balls in training, yet those very scenarios cost his side in a 3–1 home defeat to Brentford. United’s defending looked generous on both occasions that led to Brentford goals. Igor Thiago profited when Harry Maguire’s attempt to spring an offside trap failed, and Matthijs de Ligt was left beaten by a long ball over the top.

Benjamin Šeško’s strike gave United hope when he scored their first goal, but Bruno Fernandes missed a second-half penalty and United were unable to recover. Mathias Jensen sealed the win in stoppage time with a swerving shot that beat Altay Bayındır, who the report suggested could have done better in goal.

Amorim did not hide his frustration after the match. “It’s always the same to lose at this club, it hurts a lot,” Amorim reflected after the game. “We need to think about the next one.

“Of course we want to win. We didn’t control the game. We played the game of Brentford. First balls, second balls, set-pieces. All the crucial moments were against us. It’s tough to lose again but we need to think about the next one.

“The first goal was a long ball. We worked on that in the week, and on set pieces. We knew the long balls were coming and one touch they had the opportunity. We need to do better.

“We didn’t play our game. We only had control for some moments. But it was more or less all the same. We need to play our games, not the opponents’, but they were stronger on that.“

The defeat leaves United with just two wins from their opening six matches of the season. An earlier exit from the Carabao Cup, a defeat to League Two promotion hopefuls Grimsby Town, has added to the club’s concerns. Brentford moved ahead of United in the Premier League table, with Igor Thiago now only trailing Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot.