Mathys Tel has had a tough time of things at Tottenham since his loan move from Bayern Munich was turned permanent in the summer.
The 20-year-old has struggled to find regular gametime in the early stages of the Premier League season, and he has been at the centre of plenty of discussion in N17.
Tel scored for Tottenham in their win over Leeds last time out, with that strike his first of the season, and also his first for his club since 13 April.
The Frenchman appears to be heading back on the right track in North London of late, but that has come after a major incident concerning him and Thomas Frank.
Ex-Tottenham scout moots reason behind Mathys Tel Champions League snub
Tel’s future at Tottenham was cast into doubt a few weeks ago, when it was confirmed that he had been left out of the squad for the Champions League.
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Frank opted against including the former Bayern Munich starlet, despite the fact that Spurs had laid out a fee of £30million to sign him earlier in the summer.
It was a decision that raised plenty of eyebrows and will have undoubtedly knocked the youngster’s confidence a little in the following weeks.
Ex-Spurs scout Bryan King – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – believes that Tel’s off-field behaviour is likely to have resulted in the snub from the boss.
“The only thing I can think of was whether it was an attitude problem or a discipline problem,” King said.
“Something wasn’t right from when Frank took over, and they came back in pre-season. Something didn’t impress Frank, whether it was his off-field behaviour or the way he trained or something along those lines.
“To pay £30m for a player and not put him in the Champions League squad, I would imagine it probably will have been something quite disturbing to be honest.
“He has to buckle down and prove to Frank that he is good enough to start. He was a bit fortunate with his goal against Leeds, as it did take a bit of a deflection, but it would be good to see him play 90 minutes.”
Mathys Tel and Thomas Frank have put issues behind them
Whatever the issue between Tel and Frank was at Tottenham in the early stages of the season, it appears that they have both put it behind them in the ensuing weeks.
The Dane’s decision will have served as a big blow to the starlet, but he has seemingly battled back in the correct way and should now have plenty of confidence after his goal last time out.
It is clear that he has a big future ahead of him, and he now appears ready to fulfil that at Spurs in the coming months.