Spurs drop forward from UCL squad for Dominic Solanke ahead of Dortmund clash.
Thomas Frank is already hanging by a thread at Tottenham, and he has still found a way to make a high-risk decision that feels like a design to turn the heat up another notch. Spurs have dropped Mathys Tel from their Champions League squad and brought Dominic Solanke back in ahead of Borussia Dortmund.
In isolation, Solanke over Tel is not a scandal. Solanke is the senior striker, the more complete #9, and when fully fit, he gives Spurs structure: someone to pin centre-backs, link play, and lead the press. The problem is that Solanke’s not fully fit. He is barely back. And Tel is the one who is actually match-sharp. Matchday squad news confirmed by Fabrizio Romano via X.
That is what makes this feel like classic Tottenham self-sabotage. You are in crisis, you are short of forwards, you are trying to survive a Champions League night, and you choose to remove a fit, ready option for a striker still building his legs.
Mathys Tel’s contributions so far
The numbers spell it out. Tel has at least been involved. In the Premier League this season, he has 14 appearances, three goals, and 469 minutes, mostly cameos, but real minutes in real matches. Solanke, because of injury, has had almost nothing. He has three league appearances and only 61 minutes, with no goals yet. Frank is the one easing Solanke into action slowly, yet he picks the Englishman over a 20-year-old fully fit striker. Makes as little sense as the current season for the Lilywhites.
Spurs need legs, intensity, and options. Tel offers something different: pace, chaos, and the ability to attack space and create a moment when the structure breaks down. Solanke offers control. Spurs currently have neither, and dropping Tel removes one of the few variables that can change a game in a flash.
The bigger issue is the message this sends. Tel has already been living off scraps, and he had only recently been reinstated in the Champions League group, and now he is left out again. You cannot keep doing that to a young forward and expect him to stay bought in. More importantly, you cannot keep making decisions that look messy and expect the dressing room to stay calm when the manager is already fighting for his job.
When you are on the verge of getting sacked, you do not make calls that shrink your options. You make calls that protect you. Frank has done the opposite. If Dortmund beat Spurs and Solanke looks off the pace, the fallout will be immediate. The gaffer does not have the credit in the bank to survive another “what was he thinking?” decision.
