Tottenham boss Thomas Frank was pleased with Mathys Tel’s contributions vs Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup third round
Tottenham Hotspur advanced to the Carabao Cup fourth round by beating Doncaster Rovers 3-0 at home on Wednesday evening.
Joao Palhinha opened the scoring in the 14th minute before a Jay McGrath own goal had Spurs 2-0 up by half-time. Brennan Johnson added a third in stoppage time, safely booking the hosts’ passage into the round four and setting up a tasty tie against Newcastle United next month.
As expected, Thomas Frank made some changes to his starting XI from last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion. Mathys Tel was handed a start up top, flanked by Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert. The 20-year-old has found game time hard to come by in the early stages of Thomas Frank’s reign, so the cup game against Doncaster Rovers was a chance for him to impress the gaffer.
Thomas Frank gives Mathys Tel verdict
Despite only completing a £30million permanent move from Bayern Munich in June, Mathys Tel was surprisingly left out of Tottenham’s Champions League squad. This has led to the Frenchman’s future at N17 being called into question from different quarters already.
However, Frank believes in the player and also spoke out redeploying him on his preferred left-wing position after majorly using him through the middle since the start of the 2025/26 season. But, the Danish tactician decided to go with Tel in the No.9 role against Doncaster. The Sarcelles-born talent came agonizingly close to scoring, squandering two gilt-edged chances by failing to even make contact with the ball.
Nonetheless, the Spurs boss was pleased with the youngster’s display on Wednesday night. He felt that Tel’s performance was actually a “step-up” as he worked extremely hard and got into right areas to score. The 51-year-old also suggested that the forward isn’t in a bad run of form at all.
“I don’t think he has a bad run, if I’m honest. He played striker against West Ham which I think he did quite well. Worked very hard for him to arrive in the right areas which I think he did today. In terms of performance that was a step up,” Frank was quoted by Football London.
“Then we can look at the end product to score the goal but the performance to arrive in the box I was very happy with. Just close with the first ball from Brennan, ready for the cutback. Second half got in there on two other good situations and had a nice shot. I think it was a step up in terms of performance.”
Tel is lacking confidence at the moment
Tel has had a difficult start to the 2025/26 season, and Frank’s decision to omit him from Tottenham’s Champions League squad has seemingly affected him. The France under-21 international is lacking confidence, which is very much apparent from his performances.
The 20-year-old was an unused substitute in the 2-2 draw at Brighton last weekend, with Frank preferring turning to Johnson on the bench to change the course of the game. The Doncaster cup game was a glorious chance for Tel to impress, but he did not do enough.
The ex-Bayern starlet cannot get more football unless he grabs the opportunities that comes his way, as Frank clearly prefers other attackers over him.