Anyone remember Mathys Tel? Signed by Bayern Munich for what was a record fee for a 17-year-old back in 2022, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur on loan in 2025. The club ended up making a tidy profit on the
venture, buying the Frenchman for €20m and selling him for €35m + the €10m loan fee.
Tel was always a hard worker, endearing himself to the fans with his talent and strong desire to stay at the club. It didn’t work out in the end, but it was hoped that a move to London would help get the Frenchman back on track.
That is not what happened.
The controversy
Mathys Tel is currently at the center a of controversy at Spurs involving embattled coach Thomas Frank. During their most recent game against West Ham, fans turned on the coach for subbing off the Frenchman, who was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bitter performance. Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold recounts:
Solanke replaces Tel, which gets huge boos from the crowd. The Frenchman has been the most threatening of the front line by a distance.
Ahead of the game against Borussia Dortmund, Spurs then announced their newest Champions League squad list — and Mathys Tel was not on it. This prompted heavy backlash from fans who were not happy with the decision, as well as an angry reaction from the striker’s camp as well.
During the official pregame press conference, Frank said he had no choice but to remove Tel from the squad, telling reporters (via FootballLondon).
“Yeah, I made the decision. It was not a nice decision to have to make. Unfortunately that’s football, you have to make a decision. With the way the rules are, the only option was it was either Dom or Mathys in the squad,” said Frank. “I chose Dom because… I think Mathys has done very well in the last couple of games and that’s the crazy thing, if I could pick from all the players that are fit, then he would start tomorrow. But I can only pick between the two of them and now he is out of the squad. That’s of course a tough one to take for Mathys.”
That seems like a very odd answer, basically saying that if he could only pick from the fit players, Tel would be on the squad. But because he can’t, he has to pick Solanke. Why does he have to pick Solanke? There are already significant questions about the Englishman’s fitness.
Now, reports have emerged linking Tel to an exit from Spurs as soon as possible. Maybe not this winter — but certainly in the summer. He remains the absolute dream target of Paris FC, per Florian Plettenberg, who will make attempts to sign him until the deadline day. With the way things are going at Spurs, he may want to leave sooner rather than later. Because everything boils down to…
The coach
Thomas Frank has well and truly united the Tottenham fanbase. Everyone, even the most conservative, “always back the coach”-type fans want him gone from the team as soon as possible. The football they play is dire, and the results are truly abject, especially in the Premier League.
They are 14th in the table, only ten points from the relegation spots. They are losing to teams like West Ham and Bournemouth, who are having equally terrible seasons and are below them in the table. This has led to a fan meme about Dr. Tottenham, who cures all ailments when a club comes to visit.
Thomas Frank is under fire and the game against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday could be his last. Reliable reports say there are voices on the board who want him to leave. There are already rumors linking Spurs to sacked Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso — though it’s questionable whether Alonso would accept such a job at this stage.
Now, their results in Europe have been decent on average, and they are facing BVB, so there’s a solid chance Frank could get a win and extend his tenure a bit. However, with 60,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium booing him every game, it feels like his time at the club is on life support.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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