If you walk around N17 or sit at a pub around the corner and speak with the Lilywhites faithful, one of the more likely conversations you are going to end up having is about Tottenham Hotspur’s winter signing Mathys Tel. The French sensation arrived at the club with a lot of noise and equal parts expectations on his head, given how he has been regarded as one of the better upcoming players in European football. However, while Tel has shown promise, his impact hasn’t been as noisy as the transfer.

While we have seen Daniel Levy carefully threading each penny over the years, the club chairman chose to spend money for a hefty loan fee to bring him to North London. Now, if the transfer were to be converted into a permanent move, the Lilywhites will have to fork out another £45 million. When you spend such massive fees to bring in a player, it’s a massive risk, and moreover, you’d expect him to start contributing from the get-go – but however, it does appear that it wouldn’t be such a case with Tel. He has netted a couple of goals in his seven league appearances at N17, and you could see that he is still carrying a lot of struggles that he had at Bayern Munich. When he joined the German giants, he was beaming with confidence, taking on players for fun, but that stopped with Bayern, and now he is still not quite there yet. So here the Lilywhites, as they have done lately, would be paying a hefty sum with a keen interest in the long-term haul of the 19-year-old. Is it a risk worth taking, though?

Is Tel a risk worth taking?

It comes down to a few factors; let’s start with the obvious: money. There have been reports suggesting that the Lilywhites have been reluctant to pay the agreed-upon fee in the original option. And the fact that the French international has no future under current leadership in Bavaria means they would be pushing for a summer sale before his value drops further. This is where Daniel Levy and his hardball negotiations come in; he would be looking to get a significant discount on the £43-47.5 million buy clause in the agreement. Now any decision to base the agreement would depend upon the number that Bayern are willing to agree to for Tel.

Another significant condition would be the managerial position. Ange Postecoglou did a lot of grinding to convince Tel to move to Tottenham. But the Australian head coach’s future at N17 is hanging by a thread, and if he were to be shown the door, then it is to be seen who walks through the gates of Hotspur Way and what sort of preferences he brings to the club.

Then comes a talk about sunk cost. There would be ample alternatives available in the current market if the North Londoners invested the money elsewhere; perhaps a move for Nico Williams – the marginal transfer fee gap isn’t huge between the two. So the hierarchy at N17 will have to consider if any alternative brings better value for money than Tel before making a move for him.

Let’s be realistic: Tel hasn’t awed anyone with his performances at the club, and while he is still young, he comes with a considerable transfer fee. In a way, possibly his performances from now till the end of the season should be an ideal decider on whether the Lilywhites should sign him on a permanent deal, but at the moment the weight scale leans more towards the no end of the spectrum.

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Do you think Tottenham should sign Tel on a permanent deal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.