Gary Lineker and Micah Richards both believe Mathys Tel should be playing on the left-hand side after struggling to impress in a central role during Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
The French striker was deployed at centre-forward by Thomas Frank on Sunday and failed to be the focal point of the attack, managing zero shots on goal and just five accurate passes.
With Frank’s move seemingly backfiring, Lineker claimed Tel was not fulfilling the natural striker’s duties well against Villa, as he struggled to exploit the high line that Unai Emery deployed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tel was handed his third Premier League start on Sunday, all of which have come at centre-forward, with the Frenchman scoring his first goal of the season in the 2-1 win over Leeds before the international break.
Tottenham were without injured Dominic Solanke on Sunday, while Richarlison came off the bench for Tel in the final half-hour, and Randal Kolo Muani returned from injury.
Lineker and Richards Agree on Mathys Tel
Lineker, speaking on The Rest is Football, said he preferred seeing Tel on the left following yet another start for Tottenham at centre-forward on Sunday:
“I preferred him, perhaps, on the left-hand side when I'm seeing him play there. But yeah, 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 that high line with no pressure on the ball.”
Richards responded:
“Yeah, exactly that. I echo your thoughts as well. I like him better off the left.”
Tel, a February arrival from Bayern Munich, has struggled to find form in his first 10 months as a Tottenham player, netting just four goals in 28 appearances for the North London side.
The 'extraordinary' Frenchman initially joined Spurs on loan at the start of the year before his move from Bayern was made permanent for £30m this summer.
Tottenham are dealing with several injury issues in attack, with Solanke yet to feature since their 2-0 win at Manchester City in August.
Dejan Kulusevski also remains unavailable and has yet to play this season, following surgery on his patella before last season’s Europa League final victory in May.