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Thomas Frank owes Ange Postecoglou a thank you as his Mathys Tel theory now comes true, £30m deal done
Tottenham Hotspur only announced the arrival of Thomas Frank on Thursday evening, but have already handed the Dane a signing.
Spurs have now sealed a £30m deal for Mathys Tel after taking the Frenchman on loan from Bayern Munich for the second half of last season.
The 20-year-old only scored two goals in 13 Premier League appearances within that time period, but Tottenham have seen enough promise in the France U21 international to sign him on a permanent basis.
As Mathys Tel joins Tottenham on a six-year contract, Thomas Frank owes Ange Postecoglou a debt of gratitude.
Ange Postecoglou predicted Mathys Tel would sign permanently after “long” phone call
Speaking back in February, the Australian assured Tottenham fans that the Sarcelles-born prodigy was not just joining Spurs on a temporary basis.
Postecoglou said: “He’ll be a Tottenham player, mate. He’ll be a Tottenham player.
“I think he’ll show everyone he’s going to be a Tottenham player in the next six months. I didn’t bring him here for six months. I felt that if I kept him on the phone long enough, I would wear him down. He was falling asleep by the end.
“I got a sense pretty early on that there was a connection there and he was hearing what he wanted to hear. I think it is a credit to him that, rather than just jump at what came at him, he was very thorough in the way he made his decision.”
Postecoglou clearly put a lot of effort in to bring Tel to north London, and with Frank having a say on recruitment at Spurs, the Dane surely approved this signing, and owes his predecessor for his groundwork in luring a precocious talent to N17 in the first place.
Where Thomas Frank should deploy Mathys Tel
Tottenham fans expressed some concern over Tel after a recent UEFA European U21 Championship clash between France and Portugal, where he and Wilson Odobert both struggled to shine.
Supporters raised the point that Tel must decide whether he wants to play out wide or centrally, as he seems to be caught in two minds at the moment, although the evidence suggests he is strongest on the left flank.
| Position | Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left Winger | 44 | 10 | 6 |
| Centre-Forward | 40 | 5 | 1 |
| Right Winger | 14 | 4 | 1 |
Throughout his career, the Frenchman has played 44 games on the left and 40 as a central striker, supplying 16 goal involvements out wide compared to just six in the middle.
Therefore, seeing as Frank already has Dominic Solanke and Richarlison to play centrally, the Dane should focus his efforts on moulding Tel into a left forward.