‘I smelt a rat straight away over Mathys Tel at Tottenham’
Mathys Tel will return to Bayern Munich at the end of the season once his failed loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur concludes.
That’s according to ex-Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who exclusively told Football Insider he can’t see the teenage attacker making a permanent move to Tottenham after Tel’s recent displays.
Tel arrived on Deadline Day to much fanfare at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but has failed to make the impact Spurs fans had hoped for, scoring three goals across his half-season in North London.
Those goals have come across just 12 appearances in all competitions for Tottenham, eight of which have been starts, and the 19-year-old forward now looks set to return to Bayern Munich at season’s end.
Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson has told Football Insider he never expected the move to become permanent, “smelling a rat” as he questioned why Bayern loaned them Tel in the first place.
Tel’s loan contract at Tottenham includes a £45million option to buy, but Daniel Levy will be in no rush to activate that clause based on the Frenchman’s performances for Ange Postecoglou’s side so far.
Mathys Tel ‘never the right fit for Tottenham’
Robinson previously told Football Insider that Tottenham saw Tel as a long-term successor to Heung-min Son upon his arrival, but the Bayern loanee’s displays have fallen well short of those comparisons.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Robinson wondered why 14th-placed Tottenham were ever able to sign Tel, and argued his performances make a return to Bayern no surprise whatsoever.
“I never thought he’d become a permanent transfer, I smelt a rat straight away – you look at a young, quality player, the reputation that he’s got…”, Robinson told Football Insider.
“One, why did Bayern Munich want to let him go? Two, why does he want to join Tottenham when they were 14th in the Premier League? Why was nobody else taking him? There was an issue.
“He’s probably better off playing out wide isn’t he, rather than down the middle. He’s played down the middle, but he’s played in a side that’s struggling.
“Whoever comes in next season for Tottenham, it’s a great time to come in because the season has been an absolute disaster.
“There is a draw there, there is an appeal for the managers, but players like Mathys Tel – that was never the right fit in January for me.
“He’s not pulled up any trees since he’s come in, and there’s absolutely no surprise that he’s going back to his parent club.”
Tottenham yet to acknowledge Mathys Tel mistake
Tel certainly hasn’t been the worst performer for Tottenham since his arrival – and joins a lengthy list – but his performances haven’t been enough to warrant Levy triggering that £45m option to buy.
Robinson acknowledged that with Postecoglou seemingly set for the exit door, a different manager could get more out of Tel, but it’s unclear if Tottenham’s prospective candidates would want to re-sign him.
Missing out on European football altogether next term could also be terminal for Tottenham’s chances of signing Europe’s best, and Bayern will still see Tel as part of that category despite his failed loan spell.