Mathys Tel has found himself in the firing line at Tottenham Hotspur yet again after their 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Goals from Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi handed the Reds a much-needed victory, as Spurs were unable to rise to the challenge of a crucial clash at the bottom end of the table.
It was a story of collective errors from the Lilywhites once again as they succumbed to a fourth consecutive home defeat in the Premier League, but Tel has been singled out for Forest’s second goal.
The Frenchman failed to react as Callum Hudson-Odoi cut the ball back into the Spurs box, allowing an easy finish for Gibbs-White, and it was a moment that Danny Murphy was quick to pick apart on Match of the Day.
Tottenham’s defeat to Forest could be huge in the context of their season as they dropped points to a direct relegation rival, while Tel was among a number of players who were to blame for the visitors’ goals.
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Mathys Tel ‘switches off’ to allow Morgan Gibbs-White to score
Tel has faced his fair share of criticism in North London this season, with previous manager Thomas Frank initially opting to leave him out of the squad for the league phase of the Champions League.
However, the forward has bounced back under Igor Tudor, and his performances have been deemed worthy of starts in each of their last four games in all competitions.
The 20-year-old was a thorn in the visitors’ side in the first half on Sunday, when he threatened to create an opening for Spurs to capitalise upon.
Tottenham quickly saw the game get away from them after Jesus’ opener on the stroke of half-time, and the second goal from Gibbs-White shortly after the hour mark was a catalogue of errors from Spurs.
Nevertheless, Murphy picked out Tel as a key culprit as part of his Match of the Day analysis, as the youngster failed to pick up Gibbs-White as Hudson-Odoi pulled the ball back across goal.
“Gibbs-White is a good player, and look at the space he’s in, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” the 49-year-old said.
“(Cristian) Romero comes out, what’s he coming out for? There’s a big gap in the middle of the defence, (Pape) Sarr drops in. Sarr has to cover Romero; Gibbs-White is free as a bird.
“It’s a great ball in from Hudson Odoi, and Tel, I don’t know what he’s doing. He’s switching off, he’s not helped his mate.”
Mathys Tel Tottenham exit highly likely this summer
Football Insider revealed back in January that Tottenham wanted to block Tel leaving the club in the middle of the season, if he made any efforts to try and engineer a move elsewhere.
The starlet endured a tumultuous relationship with Frank, leading him to be consistently linked with a move elsewhere in the early months of the season.
Like many players in the Tottenham squad, his future will be hugely uncertain heading into the summer, especially if the North Londoners are relegated at the end of the campaign.
Tel has looked like a player who wants to get away for several months now, and it is surely highly likely that he gets his move this summer, because the club won’t have any desire to stand in his way after the way this season has played out.
It is in Tottenham’s interest to try and overhaul their squad regardless of which division they find themselves in for next season, and if Tel wants to move, they surely wouldn’t go to the same extremes to keep him this time.
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