Tottenham Hotspur went into last night’s game against Manchester City hoping to win their fourth Premier League game on the bounce.
Unfortunately, a goal from Erling Haaland in the first half made sure that didn’t happen.
However, while they left the match empty-handed, Ange Postecoglou’s side weren’t dreadful, and had they been a little more clinical in the final third, they could’ve easily picked up at least a point.
That does suggest that their attacking options on the night were a little lacklustre, though, which was the case, and therefore, the manager should look to take Mathys Tel out of the team for the next game.
Why Tel should be dropped
So, before the pitchforks come out, we are not saying that Tel is a bad player or someone that won’t develop into a serious world-beater for Spurs, as based on his performances for Bayern Munich last season, when he produced 16 goal involvements in 1406 minutes, he looks like he will be.
However, it’s also true that since moving to North London, the young Frenchman has struggled to make an impact.
For example, he’s now made five appearances for the Lilywhites, four of which have been starts, yet he’s only found the back of the net once, which ended up being a consolation goal against Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
Moreover, his actual performances have not been convincing either, with yesterday’s clash with City another example of that, as demonstrated by his statistics.
In 66 minutes of action, the 19-year-old prospect amassed an expected goal figure of 0.04, took a single shot on target, failed in 100% of his dribbles, took 13 touches, completed four passes, lost six of seven duels, committed a foul and was dribbled past once.
Minutes
66′
Expected Goals
0.04
Goals
0
Expected Assists
0.00
Shots on Target
1
Shots off Target
0
Shots Blocked
0
Dribbles (Successful)
2 (0)
Dribbled Past
1
Touches
13
Duels (Won)
7(1)
Fouls
1
Crosses (Accurate)
0 (0)
Long Balls (Accurate)
0 (0)
Completed Passes
4
In short, it was another display in which he failed to add anything to the team, so with a must-win tie against AZ Alkmaar coming up, it might be time for Postecoglou to drop Tel and turn to another of his up-and-coming forwards instead.
Chalkboard
The Spurs gem who should replace Tel
With Dominic Solnanke still out recovering from his knee injury, the centre-forward options Postecoglou can turn to at the moment are rather limited, especially when it comes to the Europa League knockout phases, the club have already announced their squad.
However, given Tel’s ineffectiveness in recent games, he has to do something.
Fortunately, there is a youngster who seriously impressed last time out in the competition who can join the main squad whenever thanks to the rules around U21 players: Dane Scarlett.
The academy gem returned from his lacklustre loan spell with Oxford United in December, and instead of going straight back into the youth set-up or going back out on loan, he was given a chance to play in the first team in the game against Elfsborg, where he shone.
The outrageous talent came on in the 66th minute, and instead of simply trying to find his feet, staying under the radar and avoiding any potential mistakes, the 20-year-old took the game by the scruff of the neck.
Just four minutes after coming on, the promising prospect positioned himself between two defenders and nodded home his first senior goal for the club.
Then, 14 minutes later, the Hillingdon-born dynamo, who Jacek Kulig described as being “born to score goals,” turned provider, as he was involved in a slick passing move that saw him pick up an assist from fellow academy graduate Oyindamola Ajayi.
It’s not just in Europe where he has impressed, though, as in a short 16-minute cameo against Ipswich Town over the weekend, he picked up another assist, bringing his tally for the Lilywhites this season to one goal and two assists in three appearances, totalling 51 minutes.
In other words, the youngster is averaging a goal involvement every game or every 17 minutes, and while that number will increase with more starts under his belt, it remains incredibly encouraging.
Ultimately, Tel is struggling to make an impact at the moment, and with few other options, it might be time for Postecoglou to hand Scarlett a start, as he has most certainly made an impact thus far.
Fewer touches than Vicario: Ange must bench Spurs star after 4/10 display
Tottenham Hotspur fell to a 1-0 defeat against Manchester City in North London last night.
1 ByEthan LambFeb 27, 2025
