Tottenham Hotspur youngster Mathys Tel got to start the first three fixtures of the 2026/27 Premier League season with the club still working on getting its new signings integrated and fully fit. And unfortunately for the French youth international, even though he had an amazing preseason, he failed to make the most of his chance to impress as the starting left winger.
Tel was the worst player on the pitch in both the 2-0 loss to Newcastle United and the 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest, squandering a lot of chances and losing possession quite rapidly. He held the ball for too long and continues to struggle with getting his teammates involved and passing it off, which hurts the entire offense.
Savio, on the other hand, is the opposite player. He is electrifying in one on ones, he knows how to keep the ball after playing for two possession based systems in Michel's Girona and Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, and for all the criticism he has gotten in the Premier League for not getting enough goals, he is clearly very good at creating for his team.
Mathys Tel can be a great scorer in the future
But with Roberto De Zerbi wanting goals first and foremost, Tel has one advantage that could help him sneak in some playing time. It's a silly advantage, but it's the fact that he is an inverted left winger who likes to come in and shoot on his right foot. De Zerbi has been high on Tel, and you can see why, because in a theoretical world, if Spurs can get all they can out of Tel, he can be a 20 goal left winger; there's a reason why Bayern Munich and Brazzo spent so much to sign him from Ligue 1's Rennes as a prospect.
The thing is, the theoretical of the goals should not matter, because even though Savio could be the inverted left footed winger on the right side and take Mohammed Kudus out of that position, it's hard to argue that Mathys Tel, especially in the form that he is in, is a better option to start than the trio of Omar Marmoush, Savio, and Kudus.
Furthermore, if Spurs do want an inverted winger who can score, then they could just start Marmoush on the left and see if Dominic Solanke can get back to his scoring numbers in the 2023/24 season at Bournemouth that led to his Tottenham Hotspur transfer under Ange Postecoglou.
Regardless, Savio once had nearly 10 goals in a La Liga season and has a more proven scoring record at the top flight, even if he, in theory, can't score as many goals as a left footed left winger. Tel has an advantage on paper in how he plays, but on the pitch, De Zerbi is going to have a hard time justifying not playing Savio, Kudus, and Marmoush together.
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