Mathys Tel is believed to be unhappy after being dropped from Tottenham Hotspur’s UEFA Champions League squad.
Spurs paid Bayern Munich around £30m to sign Tel permanently over the summer after loaning him out for the second half of the 2024/25 season.
Despite that significant investment in the 20-year-old, Tottenham were unable to find a place for him in their initial Champions League squad when he was appointed in September.
As a result, Tel missed matches against Villarreal, Bodo Glimt, Monaco, Copenhagen and Paris Saint-Germain.
Tottenham dropped Mathys Tel from the Champions League squad just six weeks after adding him
New UEFA selection rules allow clubs to replace one injured player during the first six matchweeks of the competition phase. That’s why Spurs added Tel to their Champions League squad in December as a replacement for injured striker Dominic Solanke.
The Frenchman then played as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Slavia Prague.
However, those same new UEFA selection rules also ensure that the previously injured player is reinstated when he returns to fitness. And that’s what Spurs have now done, with Solanke replacing Tel ahead of this week’s home game against Borussia Dortmund.
Mathys Tel has been removed from Tottenham’s Champions League squad to make way for the returning Dominic Solanke.
Transfer interest in ‘unfortunate’ Mathys Tel
Tel is said to have made it clear to manager Thomas Frank that he does not like the fact that he has been left out of Tottenham’s Champions League selection for the second time.
His frustration with the situation has led to increased interest from other clubs, with several admirers in Germany and France.
However, it is believed that Spurs have no intention of letting Tel leave during the January transfer window.
Spurs would have preferred to keep Tel alongside Solanke in their Champions League squad, especially as Brazilian striker Richarlison suffered a hamstring injury that is likely to rule him out for the better part of two months.
But there is a limit to the number of changes that can be made. Those restrictions mean Spurs will also be without Conor Gallagher for the match against Dortmund in January. In fact, Tottenham will have to miss no fewer than thirteen players against Dortmund.
A win over Dortmund would significantly improve Tottenham’s chances of finishing in the top eight and thus qualifying for the round of 16.
However, should they fail to beat the German side, Frank’s men would have everything to do going into their final match of the league stage, which goes away to Eintracht Frankfurt next week.
Another loss would also put more pressure on manager Frank, who was subjected to cries of ‘fired morning’ after Tottenham lost at home to West Ham on Saturday.
Tottenham have an unerring Champions League record against Dortmund, having played them four times and won all four games by an aggregate score of nine games to two.
Seven of those goals were scored by Harry Kane or Son Heung-min.
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