It has been a difficult few months for Mathys Tel.
Despite earning a permanent transfer to Tottenham Hotspur from Bayern Munich after spending the second half of last season on loan in north London, there’s a pervading feeling that he’s yet to really show his best.
Just a few years ago, when Tel was breaking through at the German side as a 17-year-old, few would have bet against him entering his 20s as one of Europe’s hottest properties. In reality, he left his teenage years in April, having recently featured in a miserable 2-0 away defeat to Fulham, where he took it upon himself to speak to a group of frustrated travelling supporters post-game.
Having been allowed to depart Bayern for a lower than previously negotiated transfer fee of €35million (£30m), Thomas Frank omitted Tel from Tottenham’s Champions League squad in September. In light of the deadline-day loan addition of Randal Kolo Muani from Paris Saint-Germain and the pursuits of various left-wingers, including Manchester City’s Savinho and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, which would, in turn, have pushed the 20-year-old further down the pecking order, Tel and Tottenham appeared an awkward union.
But the Frenchman’s performance in Tottenham’s 2-1 win away to Leeds United served to remind everyone of a Spurs persuasion, including Frank, just what a talent they have on their hands.
With Dominic Solanke and Kolo Muani sidelined through injury, Tel is Frank’s most experienced alternative to Richarlison to lead the line — perhaps both an indictment on the lack of senior options available in attack and credit to Tel, who has impressed enough in training and matches to earn a place in the side.
A bright start for the France Under-21 international, where he was involved in building attacks from a much-improved left side, was capped off with his first goal of the season. After being played down the wing by Mohammed Kudus, Tel unleashed a right-footed strike which Leeds defender Pascal Struijk deflected over goalkeeper Karl Darlow and into the Leeds net. Perhaps the deflection removes some of the shine, but Tel’s ability to find space to shoot and then strike the ball so well will give the Spurs coaching staff encouragement.
“So almost emotional about him,” Frank said in his post-match press conference. “So happy, so happy for him. I think the character he’s shown from a young man, just really impressed me. From day one. But of course, after the setback of not coming in the Champions League squad. Not being an established player, maybe.
“I think he’s taking steps. Also (he) has been picked a little bit for the left. So just keep training well, which he does. He trains well every day. Stayed home when we went to Bodo. Trained well.
“And also, I think, big praise to (coaches) Cameron (Campbell) and Justin (Cochrane) for working with Mathys and the way we worked with him, from a fine game against West Ham as a striker to a better game against Doncaster, where he arrives more in the right areas.
“I know he could have scored two goals, but as I say, he arrives there because we trained and we showed clips, and to the next level today, where I think he worked hard. He scored a good goal, and it was a little deflection, but, you know, the connection was good. He has a header, other good situations.”
Tottenham have yet to establish their attacking dynamic. It may take a star left-wing signing and the return of Solanke, or for Richarlison to re-find his form, to get a better idea of the club’s forward potential under Frank. In light of that, Tel’s emergence as a viable option is proving essential to Frank as injuries have hit Spurs’ front line.
Tel was substituted for Richarlison in the 73rd minute, but not before he dealt with a difficult pass under pressure from Leeds’ defenders to win a much-needed free kick inside Tottenham’s half. For a player who often looked lightweight and naive in his cameos under previous head coach Ange Postecoglou, adding a streetwise element to his game represents another encouraging development.
After all, given Tel has already featured 16 times for France’s Under-21s — a side he captained in a 3-0 win over Serbia Under-21s in September, where he scored a brace — and played 60 league games for Bayern, it’s easy to forget he’s just 20. And within his age range, he’s in rarified air. Since the start of 2022-23, Tel is one of just six players to have scored at least 15 goals in Europe’s top five leagues while aged 20 and under.
It’s fair to say that when Tel was dancing in Tottenham’s dressing room, draped in a Guadeloupe flag (the French colony in the Caribbean where his parents were born) after the Europa League triumph, it’s hard to imagine the thought of playing in the Champions League would not have crossed his mind.
It may, however, work in his favour. With his influence and performances improving and growing, he is becoming an indispensable part of the Premier League unit.
(Top photo: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)