Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

'Attitude problem'- Tottenham star’s omission could be due to ‘disturbing’ reasons

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Shrishh Attavar | Last updated Oct 18, 2025 6:06 PM ET

Tottenham Hotspur left Mathys Tel out of their UEFA Champions League squad

The challenges of integrating 20-year-old Mathys Tel into Tottenham Hotspur continue even after nearly 10 months of him at the club. After initially moving to Hotspur Lane on loan, he joined the Lilywhites permanently over the summer and has struggled for minutes, and as a result, struggled with his numbers too.

Not even months into life at Tottenham, his future at the club has dark clouds cast over it. At the minute, Tel sees himself out of the squad for the UEFA Champions League. And a major reason why is his attitude. According to former Spurs scout Bryan King, the snub might have been a result of disciplinary issues. Here is what he exclusively told Tottenham Hotspur News:

“The only thing I can think of was whether it was an attitude problem or a discipline problem,”

“Something wasn’t right from when Frank took over, and they came back in pre-season. Something didn’t impress Frank, whether it was his off-field behaviour or the way he trained or something along those lines.”

“To pay £30m for a player and not put him in the Champions League squad, I would imagine it probably will have been something quite disturbing to be honest.“

While he recently notched his first goal of the 2025-26 season in a victory over Leeds United, a deflected effort that nonetheless signalled progress, his overall impact remains subdued, with only 11.4 touches per game and a 25 per cent conversion rate from limited chances, averaging just 38 minutes per Premier League appearance as per SofaScore.

TELling signs!

Tel possesses undoubted potential as a versatile forward capable of complementing Dominic Solanke and Richarlison among other forwards, but he has to swallow his ego if there’s actually a behavioural issue to be dealt with at hand.

With the lack of fit forwards, Tel knows that a chance is not too far, and if Tottenham can make it to the next stage of the UEFA Champions League, the doors for a comeback might be truly open for the former Bayern Munich man.

At 20, he has a lot of scope for improvement. He just has to keep his head down, continue towards his goal, and the chance would come by his way sooner rather than later. Under Frank’s guidance, addressing these early teething issues will be crucial to transforming Tel into a mainstay at Hotspur Way.

It is very natural that he might have lost confidence, but training hard is the only thing that is under his watch. He continues to train hard, he makes the manager turn around and make notice. He enforces himself into the starting lineup, he starts scoring goals, and he finds himself back in the UCL squad. That is the ideal roadmap. Let’s see how things go for Tel.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: