Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi was seen berating the star on the pitch after the Everton draw.
Tottenham Hotspur remain winless after four games and are yet to score a goal following another drab display on Saturday against Everton. They have attempted 51 shots on goal in the Premier League this season without scoring a single goal.
The Lilywhites’ lack of bite in the final third is something Roberto De Zerbi is desperately trying to address. After the Everton match, De Zerbi approached Mathys Tel on the pitch and appeared to give him a dressing down, with the forward having struggled to make an impact after coming off the bench as a makeshift striker. The 21-year-old came on midway through the second half but seemed to take the brunt of the gaffer’s criticism, to which he did not appear to be overly receptive.
Fans have since speculated about the tense interaction, with some suggesting it hinted at signs of a falling out between the pair. However, De Zerbi insisted later there were no issues between them and said: “I love Tel as a player”.
Spurs podcaster thinks Mathys Tel could be sold as early as January
Tel was dropped to the bench for the Everton clash after De Zerbi publicly criticised his display in Tottenham’s 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground the week before. The Frenchman came on in the 63rd minute in place of Dominic Solanke but couldn’t disturb the scorers.
Tottenham are yet to score a goal in the Premier League this season, and have taken just two points from a possible 12. And in each of those, Tel’s impact has been minimal. Despite only arriving at White Hart Lane in January 2025, the 21-year-old doesn’t look settled at the club. And that view has only been reinforced after what happened in Spurs’ goalless draw with Everton.
Purely based on his performances over one-and-a-half seasons, famous Spurs podcaster John Wenham thinks Tel could depart Tottenham as early as January. He also feels De Zerbi and the North London club might be repenting their decision to send academy talent Mikey Moore out on loan to the Bundesliga instead of using him in the first-team squad this season.
“Tel has been anonymous all season,” John Wenham exclusively told Tottenham News.
“I’m watching Mikey Moore out on loan, come on and grab an assist for Cologne and be heavily involved, playing as a sort of free-rein number 10, and we’re continuing with Tel.
“I just don’t see the preference for Tel over Mikey. Tel has had so many chances to establish himself, and I think long term, the fact that Wilson Odobert now counts as homegrown as well, just means that he will be prioritised over Tel when he is back fit.
🚨🇮🇹 Roberto De Zerbi: "What happened with Tel? I coached him on the pitch. The body shape: he’s a striker; the striker can't play with the shoulder on the goal."
"If we are playing with Maddison, Kudus and Savio, he has to play as a striker, and the striker has to look at the… pic.twitter.com/NpmjHxCxbq
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) September 14, 2026
“I don’t see Tel having a really long-term future at Tottenham. I could see him going as early as the January transfer window, once Mohammed Kudus is back up and flying.
“And if we’ve got Dejan Kulusevski coming back, Odobert coming back, and James Maddison coming back, I just don’t see that many minutes for Tel moving forward.
“I remember even this summer there was a lot of interest from Paris FC and then Galatasaray, plus some other clubs. He’s one that we will easily be able to recover most of the £30m we paid to sign him on.”
Galatasaray were keen on signing Tel in the summer
Galatasaray were very much interested in signing Tel during the summer transfer window. The Turkish champions went as far as tabling a loan offer for the France Under-21 international, although it was not known whether the proposal was a straightforward loan or included an option or obligation to buy the player.
Eventually, nothing materialised, and the versatile attacker stayed at the club. After 18 months of adaptation period, fans would have expected Tel to improve his decision-making and end product in the final third. So far, they haven’t seen much progress, and if Galatasaray revive their interest in him in January, it’d be interesting to see what Tottenham officials do.