Mathys Tel should finally have its breakthrough season. After complicated spells at Bayern Munich then his debut at Tottenham, the French striker was particularly expected this year, with a context which nevertheless seemed to come together to allow him to take a step forward. Roberto De Zerbi, who had already placed him at the heart of his project at the end of last season, still counted heavily on him after remaining on the Spurs bench. The Italian technician has started him seven times since the start of the year, proof of the confidence he places in him. But collectively as individually, nothing is going as planned: Tottenham are last in the Premier League, still without a victory, and Tel has only scored one goal in eight games.
But this relationship does not prevent certain tensions. After a 0-0 draw against Everton in September, De Zerbi notably explained that he spoke with Tel at the final whistle to explain his position during the match. The scene caused a lot of talk in England, while Tottenham was already going through a very complicated period offensively. The problem goes far beyond the Frenchman’s case alone: ​​Spurs are struggling to create, score and find continuity, while De Zerbi is still looking for the right formula. Such therefore finds himself in a team in great difficulty, with individual confidence inevitably affected, even though he was supposed to take advantage of this season to change dimension.
Mathys Tel enters the history of Bleuets
And yet, you only need to look at what Mathys Tel achieves with the France Espoirs team to measure the gap. Under the orders of Gérald Baticle, of whom he became one of the executives and captain, the Tottenham player displays a completely different face. Already a scorer five times in this qualifying campaign, he ended the rally with a demonstration against Switzerland on Tuesday in Orléans. Already qualified for Euro 2027, the Bleuets crushed the Helvetians (7-1) and Tel scored a hat-trick, with three goals with different profiles: a restart in the 10th minute, a subtle dive in the 40th and a cross strike in the 59th.
This evening above all allowed Tel to enter a little more into the history of the Espoirs. With now 17 goals, he has become the co-top scorer in the modern history of the category, tied with Odsonne Édouard. A symbolic performance for a player who seems totally fulfilled with this selection, unlike what he is currently experiencing at Tottenham. After his hat-trick, he made no secret of the fact that this record occupied a small place in his mind: “my brother has been bothering me with this for months. Ultimately, it was in the back of my mind. With the qualification, it was another motivation that allowed me to give the best of myself. Now, I am very happy. » The Bleuets ended their campaign undefeated with eight wins and two draws.
Tel must do the same in the Premier League
The contrast is therefore particularly striking for Tel, who already has significant experience despite his 20 years. His time at Bayern had notably shown what he was capable of when he had confidence and continuity: during the 2023-2024 season, he scored 10 goals and delivered 6 assists, despite only ten starts. Since then, its development has been much more turbulent. At Tottenham, he is still looking for the trigger that could finally launch his English adventure in the long term. Thus, the rest of his season will mainly show whether Mathys Tel can finally manage to reproduce at club what he shows almost naturally with the Bleuets.
And that is probably the whole point for Roberto De Zerbi. The Italian coach continues to trust him in a Tottenham which is going through a new crisis, but Tel must now transform this confidence into performances. Because while he stacks up goals and records in the French jersey, he remains stuck at just one goal in the Premier League this season. Euro Espoirs 2027 is already looming on the horizon, and Gérald Baticle obviously knows that he can count on his captain: the Frenchman showed again on Tuesday that he could be a leading offensive leader. It remains to be seen why this same player still cannot express all this strength at Tottenham…
