Although it's been a successful start to the 2025/26 Premier League and Champions League seasons for Tottenham Hotspur as a whole, not every Spurs player is currently enjoying a strong start to the campaign.
Specifically, there are a few young players and attacking players who have been held back by injuries or have been unable to make a consistent impact on the pitch. And no single player has been more disappointing to the fans than left winger Mathys Tel, who has not built on a decent ending to the 2024/25 campaign.
Tel was an asset in relief of an injured Son Heung-min, and he played a pretty important role as a regular starter for Spurs in the final weeks of the 2024/25 season as Spurs won the Europa League title.
The Frenchman parlayed those displays, as well as a whole lot of heart for the team, into a permanent transfer from Bayern Munich this summer transfer window. But while there were high hopes for Tel and a hefty price tag to go along with it, he has failed to deliver on even reasonable expectations to start the season.
Mathys Tel is unsure of himself
Even though Tel is filling the shoes of club legend Son Heung-min, who is now in MLS, no Spurs fan expects Tel to be playing at a world-class level. But he's looked like a fish out of water for Tottenham this season, which is a regression from what we saw at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Tel looks raw and unsure of himself. He works so hard on and off the ball to make things happen, but, paradoxically, the harder he works, the less things come off for him. He's getting into dangerous positions and doing the right things, but his end product is nowhere to be found. Tel is missing sitters, scuffing shots in embarrassing fashion, and he isn't translating his runs into tangible chances created for his teammates.
What it all boils down to is that Tel is trying too hard. He's doing everything he can to impress Tottenham fans, teammates, and coaches, and what is really happening is that he's second-guessing himself. He thinks too much before shooting, and instead of letting his training and instincts take over, he gets flustered and flubs the chance.
Tel is doing all the right things off the ball with his running, but when it comes time to go for the killer pass, he hesitates and the pass is no longer on. He has all the technique and athletic traits, but nothing comes off because he's caught in a mental spiral.
Tottenham fans aren't helping matters by piling on him, exaggerating his mistakes, and feeding into that negative self talk. Tel wants to perform for Spurs supporters, but the more he plays to impress, the worse he gets. A loan could help take the pressure of and give Tel the confidence, but, before all that, Frank and his teammates need to have a chat with him and unburden his mind by giving him the grace to fail and rid that imposter syndrome of being the next guy on the left wing after Son.