Mathys Tel said he was left ‘hurt’ by Thomas Frank’s decision to omit him from Tottenham’s 22-man squad for the Champions League league phase.
Tel spent time on loan at Spurs from Bayern Munich last season before Tottenham made the move permanent for £35million in the summer transfer window.
But the Frenchman has struggled to make an impact in Thomas Frank’s side so far this season, playing just 19 minutes of Premier League football prior to the international break.
Fellow summer signing Mohammed Kudus has been preferred to Tel by Frank in the opening three games, while the deadline-day arrival of Randal Kolo Muani adds extra competition in wide forward areas for the 20-year-old.
Tel’s opportunities to make an impact for his new club have been limited further after he was omitted from Spurs’ 22-man squad for the Champions League.
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And speaking on international duty with France’s U-21 side, Tel admitted that while he respects Frank’s decision, the omission certainly stung.
‘It’s clear that when you’re not on a squad, it definitely hurts,’ he said.
Spurs’ 22-man Champions League squad
Goalkeepers: Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, Brandon Austin
Defenders: Kevin Danso, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha, Xavi Simons, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Mohammed Kudus, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert, Pape Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur
Forwards: Richarlison, Dominic Solanke, Randal Kolo Muani
‘But I’m someone who stays pretty positive, no matter the situation, because I think I’ve worked a lot on my mental side, so today it’s definitely a disappointment; I would have liked to be there.
‘But the coach’s choice is the coach’s choice; we can only respect it, and we’ll work to come back in the best possible way.’
Tel, however, is hoping to use the omission as motivation to force his way into Frank’s starting XI and insisted he had no desire to look elsehwere for playing opportunities.
‘It doesn’t matter, even if I were on the list, I would have had this desire, to seek revenge, to be effective this season, to be able to kick-start my season in the Premier League,’ he added.
‘Because this is the beginning of a long first season, since last year was on a six-month loan.
‘A desire to go elsewhere? I’m under contract with Tottenham, so I’m a Tottenham player, and I’m going to do my best to simply play.’
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