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Postecoglou desperate to retain Tottenham star who was put in a ‘difficult position’
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou makes admission over keeping on loan forward Mathys Tel beyond this season
A lot has been said about Tottenham Hotspur’s terrible domestic campaign. They sit 17th in the Premier League table and are well on their way to record the club’s lowest ever points tally in a single Premier League season.
Ange Postecoglou has come under a lot of pressure and scrutiny due to consistently poor form and underwhelming performances in the league, but he has managed to salvage the campaign by guiding the team to Europa League glory in Bilbao on Wednesday.
However, it is crucial that the Spurs bosses do not get complacent from here on heading into the transfer window. They must finish the season against Brighton on a high note on Sunday before shifting their focus toward the recruitment strategy. Despite winning the Europa League, Ange Postecoglou and several players’ futures remain up in the air, with a summer clear-out potentially on the cards at White Hart Lane. One player whose future needs resolving among many is Mathys Tel.
Mathys Tel joined Spurs on loan from Bayern Munich in January, and they have the option to sign him permanently for €60m this summer. But as reported by reliable German journalists Christian Falk and Tobias Altschaffl, the North Londoners could get him for €40m. The club’s entry into the Champions League has given them renewed hope of landing the versatile Frenchman permanently.
Ange addressed the media ahead of the Lilywhites’ final game of the season against Brighton and Hove Albion. Asked if he wants to keep Tel at the club beyond this season, the Australian said (h/t Football London):
“I guess they’re the kind of discussions that we start to need to have. But again, without myself gate crashing meetings, I need to be invited to them, but we’ll assess all those things. Matty’s done really well for us. We put him in a real difficult position in that as a young player who hadn’t played a lot, probably wasn’t fit enough, we just threw him straight in but he’s handled it really well.
“I think he’s been a real important contributor for us and he’ll definitely play tomorrow at some point whether he starts or come off the bench. I’m sure those decisions we’ll kind of look into post-season.”
The game against Brighton will be Tel’s last in a Spurs shirt as far as the loan agreement with Brighton is concerned. The Sarcelles-born talent came into a disjointed, underperforming Spurs side and only managed to show glimpses of his potential. Playing off the left, he looked unstoppable times but equally struggled to impose himself centrally as a No.9.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- “Tottenham ruined it”- Paul Robinson lauds Spurs’ game plan in the Europa League final
- David Ornstein says Ange Postecoglou wouldn’t be surprised if Tottenham sacked him
- Tottenham star bites back at talkSPORT pundit; cashes in receipt
Ange seems happy with the Frenchman’s performances in six months and wants to keep him next season, regardless of if he stays or not for the third season at N17. The Hotspur Way chiefs also would like to extend his stay, with chairman Daniel Levy an admirer of the 20-year-old’s talent.
Being a tough negotiator himself, Levy has must convince Tel to join Spurs permanently and bring the buy option down in his contract to €40m. Not to forget, Tottenham’s hopes of buying Tel from Bayern has been boosted by their return to Champions League football next season.
