Thomas Frank reveals why he waited until matchweek six to bring Mathys Tel into Tottenham’s Champions League squad in place of the injured Dominic Solanke.
Earlier this season, an amendment was made to UEFA’s rules to allow clubs to replace one injured outfield player in their Champions League squad.
Ahead of Spurs’ clash against Slavia Prague, Thomas Frank admitted that Tottenham were considering bringing Tel into the squad.
That is exactly what the Dane did, with Tel replacing the injured Dominic Solanke in Spurs’ Champions League squad, and making his Champions League debut for Tottenham against the Lilywhites.
Thomas Frank reveals the reasoning behind Tottenham’s Mathys Tel decision
The 20-year-old came on as a substitute against Slavia Prague in the 58th minute as the Lilywhites emerged 2-0 winners yesterday.
The Tottenham boss has now explained that he could not have brought the Frenchman into the squad any earlier since UEFA’s rules require a player to be injured for 60 days before he can be swapped out.
When asked why he did not decide to bring Tel into the squad earlier, Frank responded (via Football.London): “Because as I understand it, it’s something with 60 days. An injured player needs to be injured for 60 days, which is relatively complicated, so it’s not like I could have done it three games ago.
“Plus, it’s also depending on how long Dom will be out and so on. So that’s why there was an opening now, that we could do it, and we can change it again, so that was good.”
Tel continues to impress for Spurs
Tel has looked like a man with a point to prove every time he has come on over recent weeks, and richly deserved to be included in the Champions League squad.
The Frenchman played with real determination and intent once again against Slavia Prague and showed Frank why he deserves more opportunities.
Thomas Frank hinted recently that Tottenham may have a problem at left wing, and one would not be surprised if Tel gets the opportunity to start on the left against Nottingham Forest over both Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson.