“He is absolutely abysmal!” A once-hyped Bayern Munich player becomes a laughing stock and is mocked by his own fans

At Bayern Munich he was once the super-sub and was regarded as a great promise. But since then Mathys Tel has stagnated alarmingly. One moment from the weekend stands as symbolic of his currently difficult phase.

When Mathys Tel said goodbye to the Bayern Munich fans a good year ago, he was highly emotional. He spoke of the club as a "loved one" he now had to leave behind. Every minute he had been allowed to spend on the pitch for such a great club, he had "loved", and Munich would "always be in my heart".

That love for Bayern Munich did not come from nowhere. The German record champions paid 20 million euros to Stade Rennes in 2022 for the then 17-year-old. It was an enormous show of faith that also piled huge pressure on a highly talented, but still very young striker. He handled it.

The Frenchman established himself in the star-studded squad as an extremely useful impact substitute and quickly became a fans' favourite. In his first season, around 450 minutes were enough for him to score six goals in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup. The following year, he was already up to ten goals and six assists in "just" 1,226 competitive minutes.

Mathys Tel frozen out at Bayern Munich after the arrival of Kompany

For a while, Tel looked like the future. Then Vincent Kompany arrived and by the winter break he had managed only 458 minutes and not a single decisive contribution in the form of a goal involvement in 14 competitive matches. Something had to change. Tel wrestled with that step for a long time and, as late as December, had told the Bayern decision-makers around Kompany and sporting director Max Eberl that he wanted to assert himself and was not seeking a loan move.

Eberl and Kompany had quite clearly recommended a loan move to the Frenchman, but they accepted the troubled youngster's decision. Then, at the end of January, Tel changed his mind, something Eberl was not entirely happy with.

"We will see whether we can find a solution. Time is pressing," a somewhat irritated Eberl said just a few minutes after Tel, following the Champions League match against Slovan Bratislava, had waved and gestured expansively as he said goodbye to the Bayern fans on a kind of lap of honour. Mind you, without there having been anything concrete to announce.

On that cold January evening, Tel walked alone across the Allianz Arena pitch while all his team-mates had long since disappeared down the tunnel. He clapped, waved, then clapped again. After that he made his way once more towards the Sudkurve. There he exchanged slaps with a few supporters, posed for photos and chatted briefly. He handed his jacket to a fan hanging shirtless over the barrier.

Mathys Tel moves from Bayern Munich to Tottenham and comes under fire immediately

A few days later, after a long back and forth, that "solution" took shape as a loan move to Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs are said to have paid Bayern ten million euros in fees for the short-term deal. The London club were in a deep crisis at the time, sitting only 15th in the league and urgently looking for an alternative to star striker Dominic Solanke, who had previously missed the entire first half of the season due to ankle surgery.

Contrary to Bayern's wishes, Spurs agreed a high purchase option of 60 million euros rather than an obligation to buy. That is also said to have happened at Tel's insistence, as he wanted to keep the door open for a return to FCB and decide his long-term future for himself.

Things were not easy for Tel after his arrival at the still struggling Spurs. His goal on his debut in the FA Cup, from which Tottenham then immediately exited, was followed by a long barren spell. He did not score again until April, when he came off the bench. By then, The Standard and The Sun had already branded him "hopelessly ineffective" and "disappointing".

Across large parts of the rest of the season, Spurs were just as disappointing. Only because the three relegated sides Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton were even worse could they avoid the catastrophe of dropping into the Championship. In the end, they still managed the unexpected happy ending in the Europa League final. Instead of playing in the Championship, a side that was already dysfunctional back then and toothless in attack were suddenly playing in the Champions League.

Bayern Munich retrospectively pull off an outstanding transfer deal with Mathys Tel

Even though Tel had virtually no part in that, with no goals and only 209 minutes in the entire Europa League knockout phase, Spurs agreed a permanent transfer for the France Under-21 international with Bayern last summer. His prospects of playing time in Munich had shrunk to a minimum because of Michael Olise's outstanding debut season and the arrival of Luis Diaz. The record champions received another 35 million euros for Tel and, in hindsight, pulled off an outstanding deal.

His second season in London never really took off either. However, the meagre return of only four goals in 37 competitive matches must be put into context. Spurs painted an even more alarming picture once again than in Tel's first half-year. Tottenham only saved themselves from relegation on the final matchday and on the way there went through two coaches in Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor. Only the arrival of the hothead Roberto De Zerbi ultimately turned things around for Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspur experience a crazy summer transfer window: only Chelsea spent more

After two catastrophic Premier League seasons, an unbelievable transfer offensive followed this summer. Spurs completely overhauled central midfield for almost 220 million euros through the signings of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. Savinho and Omar Marmoush also arrived from Manchester City as two new rivals for Tel, Savinho for a mere 87 million euros, Marmoush on loan with an obligation to buy worth 55 to 60 million euros. Added to that is another attacking option in Chelsea loanee Mykhailo Mudryk.

So far this summer, Spurs have spent 354 million euros, a figure surpassed worldwide only by the ever transfer-obsessed Manchester City (526 million) FC Chelsea (406 million). But the return on those lavish investments has so far been limited. Put another way, after only two league matches, the roof is already on fire again at Spurs.

Apart from a thrashing in the second round of the League Cup against Charlton Athletic (5-1), the attack rebuilt for so much money have produced exactly zero goals in the Premier League, while the defence once again painted an alarming picture, especially in the opener against Brentford (0-3).

Mathys Tel mocked by his own fans after unfortunate moment

That applies to Tel too, at least for some. Despite the high-profile new arrivals, the 21-year-old still has a regular place on the left wing under De Zerbi, but he has also been denied an early breakthrough this season. Quite the opposite. In the 0-2 defeat at the weekend against Newcastle United, Tel even became a laughing stock when, with the score at 0-1 in the 68th minute, he stepped up for a promising free-kick, slipped slightly and blasted the ball into absolute oblivion.

Furious and almost desperate, he punched the turf before his team-mates helped him up and tried to encourage him. Meanwhile, his own fans responded with mocking applause and whistles. Only a few moments later, he was substituted. Former Spurs player Jamie O'Hara, who made 56 appearances, scored seven goals and supplied five assists for Tottenham, saw it as a symbolic moment.

"That is one of the worst free-kicks I have ever seen," he fumed in a live reaction on talkSPORT during the match: "He is just not good enough. I don't know why everyone acts like he is a decent player - he is absolutely atrocious!"

Tel was not the only one in his sights. He also criticised De Zerbi, for example, because Pedro Porro was playing on the right wing, and Savinho, who had to sit out after only 20 minutes in the League Cup due to muscle problems.

Still, the disappointing Tel once again became the main target, having won only one of his six duels and none of his dribbles. In England, calls for Spurs to sell and replace him have long been growing louder. Coach De Zerbi, however, is reportedly of a different view.

De Zerbi is said to have told Tel in no uncertain terms that he wants to rely on him, despite the increased competition. Even so, Tel cannot feel entirely secure. Tottenham are recently said to have made an approach in the transfer market for Cody Gakpo, only to be turned down by the Liverpool player. The Dutchman, meanwhile, is said to have given his word to Manchester City.

Those question marks around Tel are only growing larger as to whether he actually has the level required to succeed at a supposedly big club like Tottenham. If he does not prove that quickly, he may already have to come up with farewell words again in the winter. It is questionable, however, whether they would be as emotional as they once were at Bayern Munich.

Mathys Tel: performances and statistics at Bayern Munich, Stade Rennes and Tottenham