Harry Kane backs Mathys Tel to flourish at Tottenham

Mathys Tel can go on to fulfil his potential at Tottenham after making a switch from Bayern Munich, according to Harry Kane.

The 19-year-old forward moved to north London from the Bundesliga outfit – where he had made just eight league appearances this season – following an abrupt U-turn on transfer deadline day, initially on loan but with an option to buy for a reported £50million.

France Under-21 international Tel had struggled to break into Vincent Kompany’s plans at the Allianz Arena, and saw his game time diminishing significantly.

Spurs’ record goalscorer Kane left for Germany in August 2023 and played alongside Tel with Bayern.

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The England captain has no doubt his former Bayern team-mate can go on to make an impact as part of Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

“It is a great move for both parties. Mathys is a great guy, really hard-working and full of potential,” Kane said in a chat with fans on the Cleats Club app.

“It will be important for him to get some minutes under his belt, get some regular game time and hopefully develop, keep improving and fulfil all the potential that he has.

“It’s great for Tottenham to have a young, hungry player with loads of talent to hopefully score some goals and help push Tottenham as far as possible.

“I wish him all the best and hopefully he has a fantastic time there, I know he will. I am sure all the fans will make him feel really welcome as well.”

Tel revealed Kane had suggested Spurs would be a great environment to further develop his career.

“He told me this is a big club with a lot of very good people,” Tel said on his new club’s social media channels.

“The pitch is very nice. The training centre is very good and if you go there, you can enjoy it. So everything was positive from Harry Kane.”

Tel added: “It is a new challenge for me, a new chapter to open. Very excited about it.

“Why I chose Tottenham, because that was the best option for me, what was important for me. I felt the commitment, I spoke with the president (chairman Daniel Levy), talked with the manager.

“I’m young. I’ve started to grow up and this was the best option for me and I’m very happy.”

One of three January first-team signings, there is pressure on Tel – who scored 16 goals across 83 games for Bayern – to make a fast start as struggling Spurs look to rescue what threatens to become a calamitous season.

A run of two wins in 12 Premier League games has left them 14th in the table, though there were shoots of recovery in Sunday’s 2-0 victory at Brentford and they have also secured passage to the Europa League last 16.

Spurs take a 1-0 aggregate lead to Anfield on Thursday in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool, which could see Tel make his debut.

“I think I am a physical player, fast, technical,” said the former Rennes player, who left for Germany in 2022 aged 17. He had made his senior debut a year earlier, at 16 making him the Ligue 1 club’s youngest ever player, eclipsing Real Madrid and France defender Eduardo Camavinga.

“I play every moment, every game with my heart. I live with this pressure. I always have to push myself to go up and look forward.”