Mathys Tel was dropped from the Tottenham squad against Aston Villa for technical reasons.
Tottenham Hotspur suffered their third Premier League defeat of the season already on Saturday, losing 3-2 to Aston Villa at home.
The latest defeat has now led to panic among a lot of supporters. Many are wondering if the club could find themselves battling against the drop for a second season in a row despite spending large sums on rebuilding the squad over the summer.
Roberto De Zerbi is under pressure after a tough start to the campaign. Not only are Spurs without a Premier League win from five games, but they have also suffered an early elimination from the Carabao Cup at the hands of Liverpool. Alongside De Zerbi, there is speculation on the futures of some Tottenham players.
Tottenham make decision on Mathys Tel after incident with Roberto De Zerbi
One Spurs player who was absent from Tottenham’s squad against Aston Villa was Mathys Tel. De Zerbi said after the match that leaving Tel out was a technical selection. He also said there was no problem with the youngster, who understood the reasoning.
Following a 0-0 draw with Everton at home earlier this month, De Zerbi was seen having an animated, intense conversation with Tel on the pitch. The Italian was spotted gesturing heavily toward the goal. The Tottenham boss later dismissed rumours of a falling out with the Frenchman, explaining that he was simply coaching the player on his positioning, body shape, and tactical demands.
However, the incident after the Everton game has raised doubts around the 21-year-old’s future in N17 after he was linked with an exit in the summer. Football Insider’s transfer correspondent has now given an update on Tel’s future. He claims that De Zerbi has no plans to part ways with the versatile forward, despite his public confrontation with the player.
“I don’t think that incident will have any massive impact on Mathys Tel’s future. He has struggled in the last couple of games; there’s no getting away from that,” Pete O’Rourke exclusively told Football Insider.
“He was disappointing against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup in midweek as well, but I don’t think Spurs are in any position to be thinking of offloading players right now.”
Tel has to work harder to regain his spot in De Zerbi’s XI
Tel has struggled for form and opportunities at Tottenham but remains a key part of De Zerbi’s squad. The France Under-21 international has started five of the six games of the season, but is yet to register a goal contribution. He was disappointing in the Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool midweek, failing to make an impact in the final third. Once again, he lacked the end product.
With high-profile attackers in the form of Savio and Omar Marmoush arriving at the club from Manchester City in the summer, Tel was supposed to lose his starting spot. Until the Liverpool cup fixture, De Zerbi kept faith in the Sarcelles-born talent.
It is clear our gaffer wants a lot more from the attacker in various aspects of his game. And having been omitted from the squad that faced Villa on Saturday, Tel faces a fight now to regain his spot in De Zerbi’s XI.
