Mathys Tel was not the final player of Tottenham’s January basket, as in the final hours they also announced the signing of Mason Melia, albeit he is not arriving for another 12 months.
It was revealed afterwards that a familiar trick helped them seal the deal.
Ange Postecoglou held talks with Mason Melia before Tottenham signed him
As confirmed by BBC journalist Nizaar Kinsella, further relayed by GiveMeSport, Ange Postecoglou had a call with Irish teenage sensation Mason Melia before Tottenham sealed the deal for the St Patrick’s Athletic forward.
The 17-year-old has been of Spurs’ radar for a while now and has been roped in on the back of a transfer that could potentially cost up to £3.2 million. Arriving in January 2026, Melia has signed a contract until the end of the 2030/31 season.
Despite being only 17, the Republic of Ireland U19 international has made over 50 appearances for the Athletic, having registered ten goals and three assists.
Postecoglou is also believed to have had a conversation with Mathys Tel to bring him round to the idea of joining Tottenham, which the Frenchman had reportedly refused, though it has since been claimed this was not the case.
TTLB Opinion
Regardless of whether one believes Tel did or did not reject Spurs in the beginning, what we can say for sure now is that Postecoglou has a knack for selling his project to potential new arrivals, which has further been exemplified by Melia’s signing.
It’s interesting, because it looks very unlikely at the moment that Postecoglou remains at the club by the time the young Irishman arrives in North London next year.
This isn’t just about Postecoglou, though. While he deserves credit for selling the Tottenham project to players, the club deserve credit for doing an exemplary job of presenting themselves as an attractive prospect—if not in terms of what a player may end up winning with them then at least in terms of how much they could grow and move on to bigger and better things, quite like how Borussia Dortmund have fared with young players over the past decade or so.