Mathys Tel could be thrown straight into Liverpool v Tottenham. This is what he’ll bring | OneFootball

Last season the Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel used Mathys Tel almost exclusively as an impact substitute, a player who could be charged up and sent on to give the game a jolt. Tel racked up three goals and one assist off the bench in Bayern’s first five league games, but he was made to wait until March for his first Bundesliga start. When the day finally came, away at Freiburg, he scored an eye-catching goal which fizzed through the air and dipped into the far corner, and yet he was back on the bench the following weekend.

His role this season receded even further under Tuchel’s replacement, Vincent Kompany, and so perhaps it is no surprise that he was growing frustrated and looking for a way out. Bayern tried to make the case that, at 19, he required a little patience. Tel clearly felt he was wasting precious time and his progress was stalling.

Tel’s potential was seen as almost limitless when he broke into Rennes’ first XI aged 16, taking the record for the club’s youngest player from Eduardo Camavinga. Bayern moved quickly amid interest from across Europe, paying around £25m after bonuses, and yet with hindsight perhaps more time at Rennes would have aided his development, just as the player he was often compared to, Kylian Mbappe, thrived at his first club Monaco for the first two seasons of his career.

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Mathys Tel has left Bayern Munich to join Tottenham on loan (Getty Images)

So after starting only twice this season for Bayern, Tottenham offer Tel a chance, above all, to play. How Ange Postecoglou fits the Frenchman into his team is still to be seen – captain Son Heung-min plays in what would be his natural position on the left wing, but Spurs have injuries to striker Dominic Solanke and right winger Brennan Johnson, and Tel has shown he can play across the front line. He may well be thrown straight into Thursday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Liverpool, where Tottenham take a 1-0 lead that not many people envisage them protecting.

“Oh, mate,” was Postecoglou’s response when asked on Wednesday where Tel would play. “Archie [Gray, currently playing in defence] wanted to be a central midfielder, so who knows where Mathys will end up.

“Look, he’s got the attributes to play as a nine for sure, but he’s played wide really successfully as well. That’s the beauty of him coming into us. At the moment we’re going to need him probably in all of those areas because it’s fair to say, as much as we’ve got issues at the back, we’ve probably got bigger issues in the front third at the moment. We’re missing three wingers and our striker.

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Mathys Tel celebrates after scoring against Manchester United in the Champions League last season (Nick Potts/PA)

“Richy [Richarlison] is doing great for us at the moment, but he’s coming off not playing for a while and we’ve got to be really careful with him. Sonny’s playing all the time, we’ve got Mikey (Moore), he’s a 17-year-old, we’ve got Deki [Dejan Kulusevski] who can play in there … In the short term until we get some numbers back, I think he can fill all three roles.”

And what will Tel offer Spurs? He is quick and skilful, with the confidence to take on defenders and risk losing the ball to create an opportunity. He was among the leading dribblers in the Bundesliga last season, although those numbers should come with the caveat that he spent so much time coming off the bench for Bayern, sometimes with the game already won, with time and space to run against tired defences. Starting for a mid-table Premier League team who like to give the opposition a head start is a different proposition.

But the evidence suggests there is an end product to go with the quick feet. Tel’s highlight reel is already packed full of well-taken goals, and Manchester United fans will be aware of his finishing prowess after he cushioned a through ball on his thigh before smashing it past Andre Onana to kill off a Champions League game in Munich last season.

He fired a hefty 3.69 shots per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga last term, ranking sixth in the league, and his tally of 22 career goals is impressive for a 19-year-old. The counterpoint is that Tel is yet to score in his 14 appearances this season and may need time and encouragement to rediscover his scoring touch.

Postecoglou has come under severe scrutiny this season for his tactics and in-game decisions, as well as some dire results, but persuading Tel to join on loan with an option to sign permanently was something of a coup, and unlocking his obvious potential over the coming weeks would go some way to alleviating the pressure. The manager shrugged off suggestions Tel had chosen Spurs on deadline day only as a last resort after avenues to Manchester United and Arsenal had closed.

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Tel has yet to score this season despite his obvious talent (Getty)

“People need to understand we’re talking about a 19-year-old player with a major decision, it’s not so much about rejecting us or anyone,” Postecoglou said. “He wanted to be comfortable with the decision. He didn’t want to be pushed in a certain direction, credit to him.

“I had a conversation with him purely around football and that he’ll find a great place here in terms of where he is in his career. We’ve shown that irrespective of age he’ll get an opportunity and the way we play will suit him. That he took so much time and was diligent, and made the decision when he had options, it meant the right mentality, right player. He’s ambitious, with self-belief and self-confidence and feels he can reach the very top.”