‘Slap in the face’ – Thomas Tuchel slammed for poor treatment of £43m Man Utd, Tottenham target | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel is slammed by pundit.

Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has been slammed for his poor treatment of Mathys Tel, who has been linked with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Tuchel has been heavily criticised this season as his Bayern Munich side look likely to be beaten by Bayer Leverkusen in the race for the Bundesliga title.

After Bayern lost three games in a row across all competitions, it was announced that Tuchel would be leaving the Bundesliga in the summer.

18-year-old Tel has been one of Bayern Munich’s better performers this season. He has six goals and four assists in his 28 appearances across all competitions this season.

Tel has been restricted to brief cameos off the bench in recent weeks as Bayern Munich have struggled. He was linked with Tottenham Hotspur last month and it’s since emerged that Man Utd have made ‘contact’ over a £43m summer move.

Matthaus has now hit out at Tuchel as his recent treatment of Tel has been a “slap in the face”.

“Before the Bochum game, I thought about why this young player, who always performed when he came in, didn’t actually get more playing time,”  Matthaus told Abendzeitung Munich.

“Tel has received a lot of praise from Tuchel, but praise alone is not what the player wants, he wants playing time.”

He continued: “When I saw the line-up in Bochum, I was amazed. Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman are injured, Leroy Sane is injured, I need speed on the wing and suddenly Jamal Musiala and Thomas Muller are playing on the wing – but that would have been a game for Tel.

“If three players are out, it’s a slap in the face for a young player when the second centre-forward [Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting] is preferred and Musiala and Muller play in positions that they might not necessarily be in want to play.

“That’s nothing against Thomas Tuchel, he sometimes just has a different attitude to players and positions than I do, but according to my football mind, Tel shouldn’t have played until the last quarter of an hour.

“For me, Tel is someone who has the Bayern Munich DNA. He didn’t get enough playing time – not just in Bochum, but also at the beginning of the season when he scored a lot of goals when he came on. He doesn’t always want to just be a joker.”

Matthaus has also encouraged Bayern Munich to beat Liverpool in the race to appoint Xabi Alonso.

“There is currently only one main candidate – Xabi Alonso, who is rocking the league with Bayer Leverkusen,” Matthaus added.

“He knows FC Bayern from his time as a player and would be a perfect fit. It is currently an obligation for every top club to have Alonso on their list.

“For me, Leverkusen is the outstanding team in all of Europe. The team plays attractively and confidently and has not lost a game yet.”