Why Tottenham decided to rebuild their season around £50m wonderkid Mathys Tel | OneFootball

So Tottenham finally got their man. Mathys Tel – the player who seemingly every club was chasing in the January transfer window – chose 14th-placed Spurs, despite initially rejecting them.

Instead of moving to Manchester United and Arsenal, Tel decided to join an injury-ravaged, crisis-hit team short on confidence.

There will be questions for the young Frenchman about his decision, for sure. But the big question for Tottenham right now is why they placed all their chips on a relatively unproven 19-year-old forward to save their season.

Tel arrives on loan with an option to buy in the summer for around £50million on a six-year deal. He will likely go straight into the team as Tottenham’s main forward threat, with Dominic Solanke out injured until the end of the month.

This gives Tel a real chance to stake a claim as the team’s first-choice striker, something far less conceivable at Bayern, where he grew frustrated over a lack of opportunities (and being played out of position on the wing when he was given a chance). With Harry Kane in the team, your time is always going to be limited and at Tottenham Tel should get the chance to shine in his preferred position – which reports from Germany claim is up front.

It’s believed a personal phone call from Ange Postecoglou swayed Tel and the promise of more game time will have been a major factor. It’s  now up to him to hit the ground running before Solanke returns.

How exciting is Spurs signing Mathys Tel?

From the outside, there may be scepticism over Tel’s hype given that he has not yet had an outstanding season in his career. But in fairness, he’s not been given the chance to prove himself fully. He showed how valuable a talent he is after becoming Rennes’ youngest ever debutant in 2021 aged 16 and 110 days, breaking the previous record held by now-Real Madrid star Eduardo Camavinga.

It wasn’t long before he was snapped up by Bayern for around £24m the following year. He soon broke another record by becoming the club’s youngest scorer aged 17 and 126 days.

But Tel has been unlucky at Bayern, in that there’s always been a star forward or two ahead of him in the pecking order. When he first arrived in 2022-23, there was Sadio Mane, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and Thomas Muller. The following season, Kane joined for £100m to further limit his opportunities. This season, Michael Olise arrived.

At Spurs, game time is there for the taking. Not only because Tottenham are suffering one of the worst injury situations in the league, but also because those who are fit are struggling to hit the mark. Solanke himself only has seven league goals. Club captain Son does not look like the same player anymore. Timo Werner has been slammed by fans questioning why he was brought on loan from Red Bull Leipzig. Brennan Johnson started the season well but has failed to impact games lately.

When Bayern Munich gave Tel chances last season, he made them count. He managed to score seven goals — 10, in all competitions — and provide five assists in the Bundesliga under Thomas Tuchel, despite making just six starts.

The Squawka Score ranked him as the Bundesliga’s fifth-best winger overall, with a 78% rating. He scored 0.61 goals per 90 with 0.44 assists – the fourth highest in the Bundesliga – and 1.57 shots on target. He also averaged 12.31 final third passes completed and his rate of 3.23 take-ons completed per 90 was the fifth-highest among forwards.

His overall numbers weren’t outstanding due to the lack of game time, but there’s serious scope to see his full potential when given more starts by Postecoglou.

This is also an intriguing move because Bayern have made it clear how much they value the player, and the player has made it clear how much he loves Bayern. He is only in north London because his hand has been forced.

“It is just the case that there is always competition at Bayern,” Kompany admitted back in December. “There are top players for every position. [Tel] actually does a very, very good job. This is a player we all love.”

However, having spoken with Bayern team-mate Kane about what life is like at Tottenham, Tel has a chance to continue where the England captain left off and become a fan favourite.

Spurs still have a chance of winning three cups this season – as unlikely as that looks on the face of it. There is everything to play for and every chance to show he is worth the hype. How far he goes at Tottenham – only time will Tel.