If the waffling on Ange Postecoglou's future is any indication, Tottenham and, specifically, chairman Daniel Levy aren't exactly great at making difficult decisions quickly and sticking to them. Tottenham's indeciveness with their Europa League-winning manager threatens to put them irrecoverably behind the curve on the transfer market, with Spurs already set to lose out on top target Rayan Cherki to Manchester City.
What Tottenham can't continue to do is be complacent with key decisions, such as their manager's future or capitalizing on signing top young players. They have a decision to make with a top young player currently in their squad, loan signing Mathys Tel, this summer, and they can't afford to mess this one up, too.
Tel did enough on his six-month loan to Tottenham to merit a long-term stay with Spurs, and his actions on and off the pitch are those of a young man very much wanting to be a part of the long-term future of this team.
Tottenham hold about a 45 million pound option to buy on Tel's contract, and they could potentially ngotiate that down to less. Now, Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg is reporting another possibility in the Tel case for Tottenham and that is another loan deal for the 2025/26 season with an option to buy at the end of that.
Waiting a year comes with more risk for Tottenham
A decision point is coming soon, and, per Plettenberg, as Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl continues his "intense" negotiations with Tottenham and Tel alike, the Bavarians clearly prefer a permanent sale, even if another loan is possible.
For Tottenham, kicking the can down the road on Tel for one more year isn't necessarily a bad idea, because, like with the Timo Werner repeat loan, it can give them some more intel on the player and another year sample size to decide if they want Tel permanently or not.
But that intel comes at a price. A loan deal with an option to buy next season may set Spurs back another 45 million pounds with less leeway to negotiate down, whereas Bayern's desire to sell to raise funds this year leaves it easier for Tottenham to get a discount potentially closer to even 30 million pounds.
Remember, too, the possibility of choice in Tel's and Bayern's cases. As Tottenham are realizing with Johnny Cardoso, whom Spurs had a 25 million euro release clause over, the player can always choose against them if given the chance. Right now, Tel is choosing Tottenham. Who is to say that if he plays so extaordinarily well in 2025/26 that he still wants Tottenham under a new manager? And who is to say that Bayern don't change their minds if Tel plays that well and are able to convince him to return in 2026?
There's a lot of conjecture and uncertainty in the background if Tottenham wait on Tel and leave it up to a decision point in 2026. Whereas if Tottenham are sold - or, at least, sold enough - on Tel in 2025, they might as well capitalize on the 20-year-old's potential now and take a minor gamble, negotiating down the fee with Bayern. If the Cardoso case has taught Spurs anything, it's to leave absolutely nothing to chance in the pursuit of fine young talent.