Thomas Frank gives a positive update on Mathys Tel ahead of Tottenham Hotspur facing Brentford.
Tottenham Hotspur are back at home on Saturday, as Thomas Frank prepares to face his former club Brentford in the Premier League.
Spurs showed fight and character to come back twice to earn a 2-2 away draw with Newcastle United. Cristian Romero delivered a captain’s performance with a double and helped his team rescue a point, thus, halting the North Londoners’ three-game losing run. The way they fought until the end and got rewarded should give the team some much-needed confidence heading into the weekend’s London derby.
Thomas Frank has some big decisions to make in terms of team selection and shape, having rotated his squad significantly and changed formations in recent weeks.
Thomas Frank opens up on Mathys Tel
There is plenty of competition in the attacking areas of the pitch, regardless of key players such as James Maddison, Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski sidelined. Mathys Tel has not managed to establish himself in Thomas Frank’s starting XI after joining the club permanently from Bayern Munich in June.
The France Under-21 international has been in and out of the team, and most notably, was omitted from Tottenham’s Champions League squad for the league phase. That did not dampen the young forward’s spirits and he has kept on working hard to impress the gaffer.
Mathys Tel has not started a match for Spurs since their 2-1 loss to Aston Villa, managing minutes off the bench lately. He replaced Brennan Johnson for the last 13 minutes against Newcastle in midweek.
When addressing the media ahead of the Brentford game, Frank was asked to provide an update on Tel. The Tottenham gaffer told the club’s official website:
“The way he carries himself, the way he trains, has been very good.
“He’s mainly played as a nine but I’m very aware he can play off the left. The only thing that any player can do is keep training well, keep doing everything to catch my eye and keep making it difficult for me when I make my decision.”
Mathys Tel requires a sustained run in the first XI
Tel has not lived up to the promise that he showed during his time at Bayern Munich. Of course, he is only 20, but the Frenchman has good amount of experience at the highest level and in the Champions League. He is yet to find a specific role in the team, having been used both as a No.9 and left-winger by Frank.
If Spurs want to get best out of Tel, Frank has to play him. Even if the Sarcelles-born talent isn’t performing at his true potential and enduring a quiet game, he has to keep on trusting him. The investment and long-term gains of having Tel firing on all cylinders are too much to overlook. It is the responsibility of our gaffer to first find a position for the ex-Bayern man and then help him fulfil his potential.
