Tottenham summer signing facing uncertain N17 future following Euro snub; Spurs credentials questioned

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Jainil Shah | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 10:47 AM ET

Tottenham Hotspur handed Mathys Tel reality check after Thomas Frank’s Champions League snub

Tottenham Hotspur garnered a lot of headlines after the Lilywhites managed to bring French sensation Mathys Tel to Hotspur Way. And he was brought in at N17 with a lot of excitement and expectation.

While his arrival was a loan deal in the winter, it was made into a permanent one in the recently concluded summer transfer window. But only two months into his permanent time at Tottenham, we are already seeing his long-term future in N17 in doubt.

The 20-year-old made a highly anticipated £30m move to Tottenham from Bayern Munich in the summer after Daniel Levy managed to negotiate a discount on his transfer. And this transfer was supposed to show everyone how he still has that talent after his stagnation in the German top tier.

But rather it has ended up giving him a brutal check of reality.

Frank prefers others over Tel?

We have seen Thomas Frank preferring others over him in the early weeks of the Premier League. But to add fire to oil, Tel was also omitted from the Champions League squad recently, and that was because of the club-trained quotas that UEFA has. And this came as a big blow for someone who was moving to Tottenham to be the central figure in the dressing room.

Let’s be honest, his numbers donning that Lilywhites badge haven’t really been very far from the ones he had at Bayern. His output has been far from what you’d expect of someone with his quality. While you’d think that Frank hasn’t closed the doors to his possible long-term role at Hotspur Way. But then the fact that the Dane head coach chose to leave him out of the Champions League squad ends up sending a clear message that right now, Tel is nowhere near a central figure to the plans at Tottenham.

And former Tottenham coach Bryan King has also lashed into Tel. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Tottenham News, he said:

“I’ve never fancied him (Tel), to be honest. I don’t think he’s a £30m player, he’s not a guy who’s going to turn the game for you.

“He’s scored a couple of goals, but even under Ange Postecoglou, he was never a regular.

“I don’t think he’s a Tottenham player.

“He joined the club under the affirmation that he was going to be a central player here, and now he’s been left out of the Champions League squad.

“The signals are that he’s not going to be happy with that, and neither will his agent. I would imagine that he might be heading back to the Bundesliga in January.”

You’d sense that maybe Tel is unhappy at Tottenham after this while-not-in-Champions-League-squad scenario. And if Tel is not happy, a possible January exit could be on the cards for him. And to be honest, it might be the best outcome for everyone.

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

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