Ahead of what could be his Tottenham debut against Liverpool this evening, Ange Postecoglou has commented on Mathys Tel’s long-term future at the club. The Australian is also confident that the Spurs newcomer is going to trouble a lot of Premier League defences.
Despite having a 1-0 lead from the first leg, one can argue that Liverpool are still favourites to go through to the Wembley final, given the record they have at Anfield.
However, the Tottenham squad, which has been reeling with injuries, has been boosted by the late arrivals of Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso, who could both play a part in this evening’s clash.
It remains to be seen whether Postecoglou will let the French attacker loose on Merseyside, but he is certainly confident that the Lilywhites have acquired a fearsome weapon.
Tel‘s record doesn’t exactly leap off the page, but the teenager comes with huge hype, which is a testament to how highly he is rated by many in the game.
When it was put to Postecoglou that the wide-forward has been hailed by the likes of Harry Kane, Thierry Henry and Thomas Tuchel, the Spurs head coach joked (via Football.London): “Obviously, my opinion is worthless when you’re talking about all these other guys! Their opinion weighs far greater, but that’s the reason I’ve signed him. I think he is very, very exciting.”
The Australian is confident that Tel can handle the challenges the Premier League will throw at him and believes Tottenham have acquired a great asset in the January window.
Postecoglou added: “When you meet him you realise he’s got that bit about him as a person who has enormous self-belief and confidence in what he can do and what he wants to do. Even though he’s young, physically he’s already in a place where he can take on the enormous challenges of being an attacking player in the Bundesliga and I think he can handle the Premier League.
“He’s a goal-scorer, he can take people on, he’s got speed. He is exciting. I’d be very surprised if there was a club that wouldn’t be interested in somebody like him. Irrespective of the situation we’re in, us being able to get him in and the circumstances behind it, is fantastic for the football club.”
