Can Mathys Tel provide a much-needed spark to Tottenham's front line?

New York Times

06-02-2025

Tottenham secured the services of Mathys Tel on loan from Bayern Munich on deadline day ahead of their vital Carabao Cup semi-final clash at Anfield on Thursday night.
The France Under-21 international initially turned down the opportunity, but had a change of heart just in time to sign on the dotted line as the clock struck 11pm.
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On the latest episode of The View From The Lane, Danny Kelly was joined by James Maw and Tottenham beat writers Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jay Harris to discuss what the realistic expectations are with Tel.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on The View from the Lane podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
James: I suspect he will get minutes up front possibly in the next few (games) with Solanke missing. When Solanke's back and assuming, and this is a big assumption, that Richarlison doesn't get injured in the meantime, maybe then playing through the middle will be a bit more difficult. But as far as I'm aware, and I appreciate there are people that know a lot more than me, he is more than capable of playing out on the left as well. But that is a position where Spurs are stacked, as I believe the phrase is now.
Danny: Stacked is the word, yep.
James: With Mikey Moore… the best teenage footballer in north London there. And I forgot about Archie Gray. Jesus, there are loads of them aren't there…
Jack: Yeah, it's Gray isn't it…
James: Well, all I'm really saying is (Moore and Gray are) better than Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, right? That's all I really meant.
So yeah, I don't know whether Tel will end up having to be stuck out on the right out of position in a role he's not as familiar with, and that may have negative effects for him. But Johnson is back in the next week or so, actually. Their forward options by that Manchester United game — I think Werner will be back in that time frame as well for what it's worth — actually could be reasonably good. I know there's this Ange Postecoglou quote that's become a bit of a meme about the light at the end of the tunnel, and it turns out it's a train. But it does kind of feel like — and I'm always tight when I say this… I will literally touch wood as I say it — the injury situation is slowly improving. At least in terms of the kind of breadth of it, in terms of the number of players that are missing.
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Danny: Spurs obviously had money burning a hole in their pocket. The bid for Guehi — Jack or Jay, whoever wants to answer this — proves that. But equally, they were prepared to pay €60million or £50million for Tel. He's not untried, he has appeared in nearly 90 Bundesliga games, I think, often off the bench. But even so, if you're getting into Bayern Munich's team, you're a pretty good footballer. They obviously rate him hugely and think that he can become something special. I mean, that's my hope anyway. My hope is that if you're offering €60million for a teenager that he's something special. That's not too much to ask for, is it?
Jay: Yeah. 60 games by the way, not 90. So close. And 12 goals in that time…
Danny: Remember, there's a huge difference between facts and truth Jay, let me tell you that for further down life's line.
Jay: I've hardly watched anything of Mathys Tel, but he is someone I remember hearing two or three years ago as someone who was a fantastic footballer. And it's no crime to leave Bayern Munich having failed to make a significant impact over an extended period of time. Just look at the forward options they've got. They've got Muller, Kane, Gnabry, Coman, Sane and Jamal Musiala. It's going to be extremely difficult for any teenager to get into that team.
I think the best-case scenario for Spurs is that they've signed a player when there's not much competition and his stock has dropped slightly. And if he plays regularly, and he'll get the opportunity to because Spurs are still in multiple cup competitions, he will quickly show that quality. And Spurs might be saying, OK, we've actually got the deal at a pretty good price here because in the summer, that price could jump up. So, I think getting the loan with the option to buy has helped them out massively. I know at some point yesterday there was a suggestion it was just going to be a straight loan, and I don't think that would have helped Tottenham at all, really.
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Danny: All you're doing is sharpening a player for somebody else then, aren't you?
Jay: Yeah, but I think this situation at least is better. But having said that, what this team ideally needs at this point in time is a proven, more experienced player who can take that goalscoring burden away from Solanke and Kulusevski in particular. And having a talented, but raw, 19-year-old… I'm unsure how much it moves the dial. If Richarlison can't play the full 90 (minutes) against Liverpool on Thursday, which I think you can safely assume that's probably the case, are you confident that in the final 20 minutes of that game, Tel might make the difference on his first appearance, and he's coming up against Van Dijk and Konate?
Danny: Confident is a huge word in that sentence. I'm hopeful that he can… what's the word I'm looking for… he can influence the game because otherwise, what on Earth is he doing at the club?
James: The words you're looking for is 'put Van Dijk on his backside' isn't it, I think.
Danny: Well that would be — with all due respect to a fantastic footballer — that would be a great sight, wouldn't it?
Jack: Spurs have so obviously missed a bit of spark and energy and ability to beat people one-v-one this season. I know that's what Odobert was meant to bring and Odobert has only started two league games and has not been involved for a long time. They don't really have anyone else in the squad who can do that without Odobert. This has been a big issue I think in Tottenham for a while, and maybe Moore can do it although, of course, he's very young. Tel's got far more top-level experience than Mikey Moore has.
They're not really comparable in that sense. And so I think that's going to be the most exciting thing that he might be able to deliver to the team. We'll talk about the Brentford game in more detail, but it's just been very obvious watching Tottenham recently that of the front players, Son is exhausted, Kulusevski is exhausted, Richarlison is coming back from an injury and they just need a bit more of a physical spark and dynamism in that front line. So, I'm really hoping that's what Tel can bring.
You can listen to full episodes of The View from the Lane for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
(Top Photo: Christina Pahnke – sampics/Getty Images)