Young Tottenham Hotspur left winger Mathys Tel has had as rough of a past two weeks as any player in the entire Premier League. After tripping over himself and making a mockery of his own potential in a 2-0 loss to Newcastle United, Tel was not much better the following weekend, drawing 0-0 with Nottingham Forest.
Spurs are struggling to score goals, and that isn't just down to Tel, who really should not even be a starter for the club in an ideal world. Soon enough, he won't have to be, as Savio and Mohammed Kudus are rounding into full fitness as the starting wingers opposite of new center forward signing Omar Marmoush, who himself could start on the left wing and rotate minutes at striker with Dominic Solanke.
Even so, Tel is still someone important to Roberto De Zerbi's and Tottenham's future plans, and as the preseason showed, there is a lot of quality football within this young man. And he has been missing the qualities of the player behind him, left back Destiny Udogie.
Destiny Udogie has been capped to start the season
While Udogie did draw the start at left back against Nottingham Forest, he was capped at 60 minutes by the medical staff, wtih De Zerbi obliging. And you can tell watching him play that Udogie is, forget talking about fitness here, not yet 100 percent fully sharp for Tottenham Hotspur.
The Andy Robertson and Mathys Tel combo on the left flank does not work at all, and that much has been made evident to Tottenham fans already through the first three Premier League Matchdays of the 2026/27 season.
But Udogie and Tel worked out quite well last season, and everyone can see that Tottenham click and progress the ball much, much better with the Italian international in the side. Roberto De Zerbi loves Destiny Udogie, even more than Mathys Tel, and he should be a huge fan of the former Udinese prospect, too, with the caliber of player he is on the ball.
Tottenham have one of the best left backs in the Premier League in terms of progression, while Tel's weakness as a winger is progressing the ball or being a more traditional left winger, which was apparent in these scoreless results against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle.
Tel likes to cut inside and be the one to score and get goal scoring chances going, and having that player like Udogie on the overlap or supporting as an ancillary midfielder, of sorts, is hugely beneficial to the young forward's playing style. A fully fit Udogie is the best thing for Tel as the grueling 2026/27 season wears onward.
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