Thomas on Jun'ai: "He just came in, composed, calm, on top of this"
Wed 21 January 2026, 11:45|
Tottenham Hotspur
Thomas Frank was keen to point out the importance of the timing of Jun'ai Byfield's debut against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening - the latest Academy graduate to pull on a first team shirt.
Still only 17, on the bench seven times this season, the defender stepped into the action after 63 minutes of a key 2-0 victory in MD7 of the UEFA Champions League league phase.
A fine first half display and goals from Cuti Romero and Dominic Solanke - his first UCL goal on his UCL debut - sealed a win that secures progress in the competition with a place in the play-off round now guaranteed.
Asked about Jun'ai's debut afterwards, Thomas told us: "I think that's one of the special moments to be part of, to give a young player a debut, and not just giving him an end of the game, nice little reward or whatever, but in an important game coming on in the Champions League. Wow, what a moment. He did well, so happy for him."
It was later put to Thomas in his post-match press conference that Jun'ai 'didn't look out of place'.
Thomas replied: "Jun'ai has impressed throughout the training. The players trust him, clearly they rate him highly. I rate him highly.
"One thing is to get your debut for Tottenham, the last five minutes, you're 4-0 up and everything is smooth. Another thing is to get your debut in the Champions League, a big night against Dortmund and we needed to win the game. He just came in, composed, calm, on top of this. Wow. I hope his parents are very proud. They should be."
