Tottenham are celebrating an appearance in the Europa League Final and a chance to win the first major trophy in club history and punch their ticket to the Champions League next season in one fell swoop. The success in Europe comes at a time when Tottenham are stumbling to their worst Premier League finish in club history, leaving Ange Postecoglou in a situation where he could be fired despite winning prestigious silverware.
Postecoglou isn't the only person on Tottenham whose future hangs in the balance, as standout young forward Mathys Tel is also at a key point in his career. Tottenham have the option to buy the Bayern Munich man for 45 million pounds but are working to negotiate that fee down. How much they are willing to pay for Tel will ultimately dictate the player's future, and there are some Spurs fans who believe so much in taking a gamble on his obvious potential that they'd even be OK with the club paying full price for the winger.
On the pitch, Tel has performed well over the past month in the absence of club legend Son Heung-min due to a foot injury. Tel has made the left wing his home and has outperformed the other potential options at the position, including fellow young gun Brennan Johnson and established Premier League veteran Richarlison.
Mathys Tel made an impact on and off the pitch vs. Bodo Glimt
In the Europa League semifinal win over Bodo Glimt, Tel came into the match for Richarlison in the 60th minute and immediately improved the team. Tel offers far more chance-creation and one-on-one threat with his explosive dribbling off the left than Richarlison does, and that threat helped stretch Bodo Glimt a little more and open things up for the others.
But what really grabbed headlines was what Tel did after the game. He joined the Tottenham fans in attendance in Norway by jumping into the crowd to celebrate, showing such copious amounts of jubilation and genuine joy that Spurs fans couldn't help but feel fired up watching how much the win meant to him.
It may sound a little silly and overly simplistic, but scenes like that do matter a lot. Everyone knows how talented Tel is. Bayern recruited him heavily from France for a reason, and whenever he's been on the pitch for either European powerhouse, he has shown a level of quality with his touches and movements that indicate he can be a world-class forward with all the right ingredients.
One of those ingredients is heart. Tel has only been with Tottenham for a few months, yet the way he has always fought for the team and looked to take defenders on is a sign that he will give it his all for Spurs no matter the circumstances. He wants to be with Tottenham regardless of how bad of a period this is for them in the Premier League.
And in victory, he is showing that he wants to be a part of the club with how he celebrates with the fans. You can't fake that kind of happiness. Tottenham have enough players where it's dubious if they truly want to be there, or it's outright obvious that they are phoning it in. Tel's actions on and off the pitch are that of someone who wants to be a part of the culture at Spurs and turn it into a winning one, and I think that's a compelling reason for the club to want to invest in him as a part of their future.