Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur have announced the first signing of Thomas Frank’s reign with the return of French attacker Mathys Tel.
The 20-year-old joined on loan from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in February with an option to make the move permanent, which has now been activated.
He becomes new manager Frank’s first signing since taking over from Ange Postecoglou, with the deal being completed this morning.
Spurs land permanent deal for Tel
The move sees the young forward return to North London following his brief spell last season, during which he scored three goals in 20 appearances.
He also picked up one assist but was an unused substitute in his side’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final.
However, he becomes the first player to join Thomas Frank’s new squad as the Dane attempts to build a side capable of improving heavily on last season’s underwhelming 17th-placed finish, which ultimately cost Postecoglou his job.
Born on the outskirts of Paris, Tel joined Ligue 1 side Rennes in 2020 and made his debut a year later at the age of 16 years and 110 days, breaking Eduardo Camavinga’s record as the club’s youngest-ever player.
He failed to score in his debut season but was snapped up by Bayern Munich for €28.5 million the following summer, where he went on to score 16 goals in 83 games before joining Spurs midway through the 2024/25 campaign.
He has penned a six-year contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, joining midfielder Lucas Bergvall and goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky in being tied down until 2031.
Tel is currently playing for France at the UEFA European U21 Championships, where they have drawn with Portugal and beaten Georgia in Group C, with Poland still to play.
Did Tel adapt to the Premier League?
In the Frenchman’s 13 Premier League appearances, he started 11 games and featured primarily on the left wing, but also as a central striker.
Compared to Spurs’ other attackers, he performed similarly in terms of expected goals (XG), shots and shots on target per game.
He registered 0.29 XG, 2.27 shots and 0.89 shots on target per game in the top flight, ranking fourth, third and third in comparison to his teammates.
He also attempted more crosses than everyone but right-back Pedro Porro, with 0.49 out of Tel’s 2.37 crosses per game being successful.
However, the area he needs to improve significantly is his shot conversion rate, which, at 8.7%, was worse than all other attackers at the club and almost 15% less than James Maddison, who performed best.
He also ranked very low for shot-creating actions, e.g. passes and take-ons, when compared against other attacking midfielders and wingers by FBref.
He produced 2.33 actions per game, meaning he was in the 7th percentile for such figures.
Therefore, it is clear to see which areas Tel has to improve to adapt to the standard of the Premier League, but the signs of his potential are promising if he can become more clinical in front of goal.
Who might Spurs sign next?
Thomas Frank’s arrival from Brentford, who he established as a Premier League team and challenged for European qualification, will certainly see new faces come into the squad.
He has already been linked with a reunion with the Bees’ Bryan Mbuemo, who scored 20 top-flight goals last season under Frank’s management, although Manchester United appear to be the favourites for the Cameroonian’s signature.
Another attacker, in the form of England winger Jack Grealish, has also been touted as a possible signing for the Lilywhites, as the Manchester City man appears to be on his way out of the Etihad Stadium after being left out of their Club World Cup squad.
Other suggestions for Frank to bring in include Southampton full-back Kyle Walker-Peters and Lille striker Jonathan David, who are both set to become a free agent this summer.