Mathys Tel has scrapped a social media post in which he wore the shirt of a Tottenham rival. Spurs fans voiced their anger at the picture on Thursday, with on-loan Bayern Munich youngster Tel insisting he 'did not know' before taking it down.
The Lilywhites are yet to see the best of Tel, who signed on loan with a £45million buy option after an intense January transfer battle. The 19-year-old boasts a gleaming reputation as one of European's standout young players, but he has only scored once in seven appearances since completing the switch.
Tel is yet to find his way into the hearts of Tottenham fans, and an ill-judged Instagram post has done little to help him. In it, the teenager is seen strolling down a hallway in a Fulham shirt with Willian's name and number on the back.
That didn't go down well with the Spurs faithful, given that Willian previously spent a season with bitter foes Arsenal and seven years with London rivals Chelsea. On top of that, the Brazilian veteran helped Fulham to a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the last game before the international break.
Tel was made aware of his mistake on Thursday, when @dxnthfc wrote on X: "Is Mathys Tel on a wind up?". @NickRandySpurs then chipped in with: "Wtf am I looking at [sick emoji]." And @NJSTottenham posted: "He's out in the summer anyway."
Others were more forgiving after Tel deleted the picture upon realising Willian's club history. The player himself commented: "Ahaha sorry my bad guys I didn't know [salute emoji]."
Tel will hope to hit his stride in a Tottenham shirt when domestic action resumes after the international break. Their next game is a tough trip to Chelsea next Thursday, with a home game against Southampton and a Europa League double-header against Eintracht Frankfurt following shortly afterwards.
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The young forward scored twice for France Under-21s in a 4-0 win over Slovakia on Monday, producing the kind of display which showed why Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is keen to keep him around beyond this season.
"He'll be a Tottenham player," said the Aussie after Tel's arrival. "I think he’ll show everyone he’s going to be a Tottenham player in the next six months. I didn’t bring him here [just] for six months. With what we have in the next few months and more importantly what we are building beyond I thought it would be a perfect fit for his next step."