Ange Postecoglou has explained why he took Mathys Tel off at half-time against AZ Alkmaar and revealed that the Frenchman can expect more game time at Tottenham as a wide attacker rather than up front.
Tel joined Spurs from Bayern Munich on transfer deadline day last month in an initial loan move which includes the option for a permanent £50million switch in the summer.
The 19-year-old, who has one goal in six games since joining Tottenham, began as the lone striker in Thursday’s 1-0 Europa League last-16 first-leg defeat by AZ, before being replaced at half-time by Wilson Odobert in a match in which Tottenham went on to register just one shot on target.
“The reason I took him off: I just thought we needed a spark,” Postecoglou said. “I could have taken off any one of a number of players. It’s just that I felt like we needed something to change the course of events.
“He’s still a young man, it’s a different league, it’s different demands and certainly at the moment we’re not in our best moment like last night, where’s he’s going to get loads of chances. But I think, again, working with him since he’s come in, he’s got a really strong head on his shoulders.
“Over time, you’ve seen him flourish, and I’m sure once we can get Dom [Dominic Solanke] back in and Richy [Richarlison] not too far, we can use him [Tel] in the way we want to.”
Of Tel’s 20 matches for Bayern and Tottenham this season, 12 appearances have come as a striker, while the other eight have seen him deployed as a left winger. Postecoglou explained why Tel may be used from a wide position in the weeks and months ahead.
“Initially, my view was that he would probably play in a wide area for us once Solanke was back,” he said.
“So we’re keen to try him out there. I think the first game he played out wide on the left and you can see that he’s really comfortable there or out wide on the right. So I think he’ll get more opportunities there.”
