Paul Merson believes that Tottenham made a blunder by signing Mathys Tel on deadline day and explains why he thinks the forward will struggle to have any sort of impact during his loan spell at the North London club.
Late Mathys Tel’s deal has changed the mood at Spurs
It is fair to say that the late deal for Tel turned Tottenham’s transfer window around in the eyes of the fans, with the club’s overall business looking far more respectable after the capture of the Frenchman.
The crucial part of the agreement is the fact that Spurs have managed to secure an option to buy the 19-year-old, although reports indicate the forward will have to give a green light for the option to become active.
Postecoglou himself seems pretty confident that Tel will be at the club long-term, stating a couple of days ago that he did not bring the teenager in for just a few months.
Tottenham fans will not be happy with Mathys Tel signing – Paul Merson
Merson has now asserted that the fact Tel was initially reluctant to join Spurs will leave many Tottenham supporters unhappy with the deal. The former Arsenal man even claimed that the newcomer will not get into Spurs’ starting eleven when all their attackers are fit.
The pundit told Sky Sports: “The Spurs fans won’t be happy with Mathys Tel. As soon as they heard that he didn’t want to join and those three other clubs then didn’t come in for him and then he ends up at Tottenham, the fans won’t be happy with that.
“That’s if Heung-Min Son can get back to his best – I don’t think he’s hit the heights of a few years ago. Dejan Kulusevski, I think he gets into every Premier League team in the country at the moment.
“Then you have Dominic Solanke, who is injured. But Tottenham don’t have the money to bring people in for £100,000-a-week for six months and then when everyone is back, they don’t play.”
Merson claims Spurs should have strengthened elsewhere
Merson insisted that the Lilywhites did not need any more reinforcements upfront as Postecoglou has plenty of firepower in the final third.
He opined that they needed to bring another midfielder through the door as they do not have players in the middle of the park who can dominate matches.
Merson added: “I think they needed a midfield player. I think they don’t dominate that area. Pape Sarr is a young lad, Yves Bissouma is not fielding his potential that we thought when he came over from Brighton.
“They get overrun in midfield, that’s why they’re defensively all over the place – there’s never a midfield there. The forwards look after themselves but I think they need a top midfielder who can dominate a football match.”