Tottenham Hotspur might have sealed the most blockbuster signing out of any club across European football on deadline day by securing Mathys Tel’s services on loan until the end of the season.
There is a £45 million option-to-buy in Tel’s loan deal at Tottenham — which gives Spurs the chance to sign the Frenchman permanently if he impresses in N17.
By the looks of it, the effort it took to sign Mathys Tel was a collective one from the Lilywhites.
Crucially, Ange Postecoglou convinced Tel to join Tottenham and managed to change the 19-year-old’s mind after he said no to a move to North London until very recently.
While Daniel Levy’s role in signing Tel was getting in touch with Bayern Munich Jan-Christian Deesen and ensuring that there is an option-to-buy in the loan deal.
Mathys Tel told he doesn’t start at Tottenham over Dejan Kulusevski
Tottenham should be very proud that they managed to get such a seemingly difficult deal over the line, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa interested in signing the youngster — and with Bayern encouraging Arsenal to bid for Tel as well. Tel is considered an “outstanding talent” by Harry Kane and it is telling by how much interest he generated.
But Ally McCoist has claimed that Tottenham’s decision to sign another young player in Tel is not the best move as they are in need of a player who would come in and make an instant impact.
McCoist said live on talkSPORT: “It’s very, very unfair for us to sit and pre-judge him right now because he might come in and do well and he might be a great success. But he’s not the profile that you’re looking for right now because we’ve already stated the fact that a lot of Spurs’ recent signings have been younger and look as though they’re planning for the future.”
“Which is fair enough but in that respect, what we would think they would get or be looking to get would be to get kind of an immediate fix and that certainly doesn’t look the case, does it?”
Ally McCoist feels Tel, labelled a “special striker” does not even get into Tottenham’s XI over their £25 million (BBC Sport) Dejan Kulusevski, saying: “No, Kulusevski’s been one of the best players this season, in the league!”
However, other disagree with Jamie Carragher raving about Tel’s move to Tottenham.
How Mathys Tel and Dejan Kulusevski can play together at Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou claimed Kulusveski has been Tottenham’s standout player this season, a claim which Ally McCoist will agree with.
However, Postecoglou going the extra mile to convince Tel, who Kane persuaded to join Tottenham suggests he feels both him and the Swede can play in the same side.
| MATHYS TEL’S VERSATILITY | |
| POSITION | GAMES PLAYED |
| STRIKER | 33 |
| LEFT-WINGER | 34 |
| RIGHT-WINGER | 14 |
With Kulusveski flourishing as an attacking midfielder this season, the former Rennes forward could easily play alongside him as either a striker or on either flank.
Even if the former Juventus technician plays on the right-wing, a position he often plays in, Tel could easily play on the opposite flank or up front. Ally McCoist’s doubts about whether the Tottenham new-boy will set the world alight from day one could be answered against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final if Ange Postecoglou hands him his debut.
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