Summer signings Randal Kolo Muani and Xavi Simons have been included in Tottenham Hotspur’s squad for the league phase of the Champions League but Yves Bissouma and Mathys Tel have both been omitted.
UEFA confirmed the 22-player Spurs A list on Wednesday, which also included summer arrivals Joao Palhinha and Mohammed Kudus, with other players left out including long-term injury absentees James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin.
The most notable absence is that of Tel, who has yet to start under Thomas Frank and appeared as a late substitute in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, and in the Premier League matches against Burnley and Bournemouth.
The 20-year-old, who did not feature in the victory at Manchester City, joined Spurs on a permanent basis from Bayern Munich this summer after initially joining on a loan deal in the January window.
UEFA rules stipulate that teams can name a squad of up to 25 players for their competitions. Eight of those 25 need to be ‘locally-trained’ and they are split into two different categories.
Club-trained players must have been registered with the club for at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21, while association-trained players must have been registered with a club in the same association (country) for at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21.
Clubs are only allowed a maximum of four association-trained players.
For example, Brandon Austin is a club-trained player because he was developed in Spurs’ academy, whereas Maddison qualifies as an association-trained player because he spent the start of his career with Coventry City.
The issue Spurs face is that third-choice goalkeeper Austin is the only club-trained player in their squad, when they are required to name four. As a consequence, they must leave three places in the squad empty, and will only be able to register a reduced roster of 22 players in Europe.
This happened to them in the Europa League last season when then head coach Ange Postecoglou had to leave Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon out of his squad for the competition’s league phase.
Frank, Postecoglou’s successor, has been faced with a similar dilemma.
The Dane has left out Maddison and Kulusevski who are both recovering from long-term knee injuries, as well as Dragusin, who is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
Bissouma has also been omitted. He has not made a competitive appearance for Spurs under Frank and has entered the final year of his contract.
The Mali international was dropped from the squad for the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain in August due to persistent lateness and has missed all of their league games with an unspecified injury.
Another summer signing, Kota Takai, who has struggled with a foot issue since he joined Spurs from Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale in June, has also been left out.
Crucially, Frank has found space to include their summer signings Kudus, Simons, Palhinha and Kolo Muani.
Tottenham’s Champions League squad in full
Goalkeepers: Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, Brandon Austin
Defenders: Kevin Danso, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha, Xavi Simons, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Mohammed Kudus, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert, Pape Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur
Forwards: Richarlison, Dominic Solanke, Randal Kolo Muani
Analysis
Most people expected Frank to leave out Maddison and Kulusevski while they recover from long-term knee injuries but it is a shock that Tel has not been included.
The 20-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with Spurs from Bayern and the deal was made permanent in June for €35million plus €10m in potential add-ons. Tel came off the bench in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain and in top-flight fixtures against Burnley and Bournemouth. They were only brief cameos which suggests Frank prefers other forwards in the squad and Kolo Muani’s arrival from PSG on deadline day has pushed him further down the pecking order.
Tel’s time with Spurs has been underwhelming so far and this will be a blow to his confidence. He has been included in France’s Under-21s squad for their fixtures against Luxembourg and Serbia so it is clearly a tactical decision by Frank. He is only partially to blame though because he inherited this sticky situation with a lack of locally trained players in the squad.
Another curious decision is the omission of Dragusin. The Romania international suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January and is due to return to full team training by the end of the month. Dragusin will need to be eased back into competitive action but Spurs are not blessed with a lot of depth at centre-back. They wanted to sign a left-sided centre-back in the transfer window but could not identify a suitable target. Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero missed large parts of last season through injury. Kevin Danso is the only natural cover which means we could see Ben Davies and Archie Gray deployed as emergency centre-backs again.
Bissouma’s absence confirms what we already knew. He has fallen further down the pecking order following Palhinha’s arrival and his poor time management has not impressed Frank. The Mali international could still leave with the transfer windows in Turkey and Saudi Arabia still open.
Tottenham’s Champions League fixtures
All times BST/GMT
Tottenham vs Villarreal — September 16, 2025, 8pm
Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham — September 30, 2025, 8pm
Monaco vs Tottenham — October 22, 2025, 8pm
Tottenham vs Copenhagen — November 4, 2025, 8pm
PSG vs Tottenham — November 26, 2025, 8pm
Tottenham vs Slavia Prague — December 9, 2025, 8pm
Tottenham vs Borussia Dortmund — January 20, 2026, 8pm
Frankfurt vs Tottenham — January 28, 2026, 8pm
(Top photo of Xavi Simons: Julian Finney/Getty Images)