Gary Lineker claims Thomas Frank is using Mathys Tel all wrong at Tottenham Hotspur, with the French forward once again struggling as they lost to Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Despite being a goal to the good after an early Rodrigo Bentancur strike, it was Unai Emery’s side who prevailed on Sunday afternoon, with Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia goals inspiring a comeback.
The loss meant Spurs dropped down to sixth in the Premier League table under Thomas Frank, with the initial honeymoon period for the new manager seemingly over.
A few cracks are starting to show in the Spurs side, particularly in the attacking positions – and that includes Mathys Tel.
Lineker and Richards on Mathys Tel at Tottenham
The French forward was signed permanently from Bayern Munich in the summer after a loan spell under Ange Postecoglou last season – but he hasn’t hit the ground running.
Despite scoring his first Premier League goal for Tottenham last weekend, Tel struggled against Villa – something both Gary Lineker and Micah Richards acknowledged.
Lineker told Stick to Football: “Thought Tel struggled a little to make an impact, and a lot of the times because, obviously, I look at this side of football when they played a really high line like Villa did today with not necessarily that much pressure on the ball.
“I’ve said before, I don’t mind when players get offside, but he was going so early. He wasn’t just offside – he was like five yards offside most of the time.
“He needs a little bit of work. I preferred him perhaps on the left-hand side when I’m seeing him play there. But he wasn’t making the natural runs of a striker that understands how to beat an offside trap, which is not that difficult when a team plays such a high line with no pressure on the ball.”
Richards responded: “Exactly that. I echo your thoughts as well. I like him better off the left. But in terms of what Thomas Frank was trying to do, there’s a clip or an image of him when they got the goal – he was so happy with the way they pressed.
“He wants pace, he wants mobility, and in terms of Tel, he’s done all right in recent weeks, but I don’t think he’s a natural number nine. He doesn’t look like it yet, but he’s very young and can learn.”
Where is Mathys Tel’s best position?
The proof is in the pudding. As both pundits stated, Tel’s best position is the wing, and he performs better off the left – as suggested in the table below.
As a Bayern Munich player, Tel also spoke in an interview with the Bundesliga’s English channel about his favourite position:
“I’m somewhere between a number nine and a left winger. I can also play on the right, but I’m more comfortable as a striker and on the left.”
Tel is most effective cutting inside and, with his height, actually provides a different option on the wings – one that Frank and his Tottenham side can utilise.