It has been revealed that Tottenham Hotspur did pursue Marcus Rashford at the start of the January window but turned their attention to Mathys Tel after what they heard about the England forward’s plans.
Rashford was heavily linked with a move to Spurs at the start of the January window, but it was Aston Villa who won the race to sign the 27-year-old on loan.
Tottenham secured the services of Mathys Tel on a loan deal with an option to buy in the summer, and the two forwards have had contrasting fortunes since their moves.
While Rashford has hit the ground running for Unai Emery’s men, having scored three times already since his switch to Villa Park, the Frenchman has found life in the Premier League difficult so far.
Tottenham were told Marcus Rashford wanted a move abroad
The Telegraph have now revealed that while Spurs were working their way through their forward targets at the start of the winter window, Rashford was one of the names on their list.
However, when the North London club asked about the Englishman’s availability, they were informed that he was prioritising a move abroad, with the Lilywhites subsequently turning their attention to Tel.
The outlet adds that Marcus Rashford’s stance regarding his future only changed late in the January window, with the lure of Champions League football helping convince the forward to move to Villa.
Ange Postecoglou is confident that Mathys Tel will come good
It is perhaps fair to wonder if Spurs have a bit of a buyer’s remorse regarding the Bayern Munich loanee, who has struggled when asked to lead the line at N17 so far.
However, Ange Postecoglou remains confident that Mathys Tel will prove a hit at Tottenham, insisting earlier this week that the forward was always going to take time to adjust to his new surroundings.
Postecoglou said about the Frenchman: “Mathys came in a really tricky time for us in that it’s different if you haven’t been playing regularly and then jump in but he’s kind of been trying to build up his fitness. At the same time, we’ve been putting him out there pretty regularly because of our lack of options.
“He’s still a young man, it’s a different league and there are different demands. Certainly, at the moment, we are not in our best moment like last night when he is going to get loads of chances.
“Again, working with him since he came in, he’s got a really strong head on his shoulders and last night, as disappointed as he was to come off, it didn’t seem to affect him in terms of his mental aptitude to deal with it and get on with it and try and make an impact in the best way he can.
“It’s fair to say we’ve put a lot on a very young player and introduced him to our league. I remember Lucas [Bergvall] was a similar one at the beginning of the year.
“He struggled a little bit in certain games, especially in Europe. He struggled a couple of times but over time we’ve seen him flourish and I’m sure once we can get Dom back in and hopefully Richy not too far in the future, we can use him in the way we want to.”
READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano reveals Tottenham’s plans for Mathys Tel until the summer