Ange Postecoglou ‘can imagine’ comments on social media about Tottenham player and leaps to his defence
Ange Postecoglou is not at all concerned about the challenging start that Mathys Tel has had to life at Tottenham Hotspur, revealing why he is encouraged by what he is seeing from the Frenchman in training.
Given the transfer saga that surrounded Mathys Tel in January and having rejected moves to Manchester United and Arsenal, some Spurs fans would have hoped that the teenager would hit the ground running at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, that has not quite happened for the 19-year-old, despite Tel scoring in Tottenham’s FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa, he has struggled with the physicality of the English game at times.
Tel spoke about Ange Postecoglou persuading him to join Tottenham in order to play regular first-team football, something which was lacking at Bayern Munich.
In a dramatic deadline day move, Tel joined Tottenham on loan from Bayern Munich when the deal had looked dead in the water days before.
The Frenchman has been mostly used as the central striker so far due to the injuries to Dominic Solanke and Richarlison, with a role out wide looking to be his most effective position at this stage of his time at Tottenham.
Ange Postecolgou defends Mathys Tel from any social media negativity
Ange Postecoglou insisted that the teenager was always going to take time to get used to the intensity of the Premier League and to Tottenham’s tactical approach.
The Australian revealed that Tel is looking more fluent with each passing training session at Hotspur Way and backed him to evolve into a top-class forward.
The 59-year-old also praised the newcomer’s work ethic, stating that he has been contributing enormously to the side with his tireless pressing and defended him from any social media negativity.
When Postecoglou was asked if Tel has the physicality to be the focal point in Tottenham’s attack like Erling Haaland is Man City, the Tottenham boss told Football.London “I don’t think he’s going to be that kind of striker, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a really good central striker, there are different types.
“With Mathys, and I’m not on social media but I can just imagine the comments about him, he’s 19 years old, he hadn’t played a lot, we’ve thrown him in and kept him in there because I want to build up his fitness.
“But if anyone is expecting him to come in as a 19-year-old and take the Premier League by storm by scoring multiple goals, it’s not realistic. It just can’t happen. What we’re trying to do is work with him. He needs to get his physical fitness up because he hasn’t played a lot of football.
“At 19, I see really outstanding attributes in him that I think he could be a really good number nine, he can play wide as well, but he’s not going to be a Dom or a Delap, he’s a different type. Looking at him in training, his movements are becoming a bit more fluent, he’s getting used to the way we play. He’s getting used to the level of competition.
“What I do love about him is that he’s a hard worker. You watch him in games, he’s closing people down, he’s doing the things we need him to do at the moment to help us. He may not be getting the goals and the accolades, but he’s certainly contributing to the way we want to play. That’s the most important thing. He’s got so much growth in him and I’m sure we’ll see that.”
What is Mathys Tel’s preferred position?
Tel has struggled with his back-to-goal so far, which suggests that he might be better suited to a wide birth than a central role.
However, the forward has insisted that he has no particular preference and is happy to play wherever Postecoglou wants him to across the Tottenham front three.
Speaking to Spurs Play, Tel spoke about his favourite position: “I can play in three positions, on the left side, right side and number nine. For me, my mentality is where the coach needs me, I’ll play. I just want to enjoy playing football and bring something for my team – so I can play anywhere no problem.”
Mathys Tel’s Tottenham career so far
| Competition | Team | PLD | Goals | Yellow Cards | Red Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | Spurs | 2 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Champions League | Bayern | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carabao Cup | Spurs | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| The FA Cup | Spurs | 1 (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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