Ange Postecoglou makes Mathys Tel admission after what happened at Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou has claimed that Mathys Tel did not turn down a move to Tottenham before he eventually joined.
The forward completed a loan move to Tottenham on deadline day, making the switch to Spurs for the remainder of the campaign with an option to make it permanent in the summer.
The move came after it was reported [Fabrizio Romano, 31 January] that Tel initially turned down the opportunity to sign after speaking to Daniel Levy.
However, a U-turn was then made after Postecoglou got involved and had a conversation with the 19-year-old instead.
That being said, the boss has insisted the youngster never turned Spurs down as he said [quoted via Fabrizio Romano, 5 February]: “Mathys Tel didn’t reject anything, he’s 19 and he just wanted to be comfortable with the decision.
“I had a conversation with him and it was purely around the football, find a great place here.
“He had other options… and he chose us.”
Ange Postecoglou has Mathys Tel at Tottenham
Although it looked as though a deal was off the table at one point, Postecoglou will be very pleased to have got the deal over the line, gaining the services of the young forward for at least the remainder of the season.
From the outside, it seems as though Levy put the deal into doubt before the manager saved the negotiations and got the signing over the line.
Postecoglou claims this is not the case, but it’s not surprising to see the Australian keen to protect the image of his boss and the club in general, especially with his own job in doubt after a tough run of form of late.
Either way, what matters now is that Tel is given the opportunity to get minutes at Tottenham and makes the impact that the boss wants to see from him.
With Dominic Solanke injured and Timo Werner not up to scratch this term, if the 19-year-old can succeed this term, it could put him in a strong position regarding his future in North London.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs have been handed a major boost ahead of the EFL Cup semi-final second-leg clash with Liverpool.
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