It might be one of the most overused words in the modern football lexicon, but Tottenham Hotspur are undoubtedly going through a project under the management of Ange Postecoglou.
That might sound like a bit of nothing phrase, but, in reality, it just means that while things might look bleak at the moment – and they certainly do – fans and pundits might need to wait a few more years to see the club’s plan come to fruition.
This will likely mean that players such as Son Heung-min, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison will be moved on and replaced by exciting and hungry youngsters.
The absurd amount of injuries the club have had to deal with this season has already seen some of those up-and-comers be given more game time, and should Daniel Levy and Co be able to get a specific deal over the line in the summer, they’ll have another young star in their squad who’s already being compared to an incredibly valuable talent on the continent.
Spurs rising stars
Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at a few of Spurs’ other promising prospects, such as Archie Gray.
The former Lees United gem is still only 18 years old, and while respected football analyst Ben Mattinson described him as a “future £100m” central midfielder, he has been a vital part of the defence this term.
So far, injuries have seen the Durham-born gem make 19 appearances at centre-back, seven at right-back, and five at left-back.
Another new arrival who’s made a significant impact on the first team despite still being a teenager is Lucas Bergvall, who joined the club from Swedish side Djurgarden for a fee of around £8.5m – which is starting to look like a bargain.
In recent months, the Swedish midfielder has become an increasingly important player for the manager and has made 36 appearances.
Impressively, 18 of those appearances have been starts, and he has managed to rack up a decent tally of one goal and four assists to boot.
Finally, while he’s not had quite the same impact on the first team this season, Mikey Moore looks like he’s set to become one of the North Londoners’ most dangerous attackers in the near future.
Appearances
36
36
16
Starts
28
18
7
Minutes
2619′
1746′
632′
Goals
0
1
1
Assists
0
4
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0
0.13
0.18
Minutes per Goal Involvement
0
349.2
210.66′
He’s made 16 appearances so far, totalling just 632 minutes, in which he’s scored a goal, provided two assists and was even compared to Neymar Jr by James Maddison.
Overall, the future looks incredibly bright for Tottenham, and it could be brighter if Levy and Co complete a deal to sign another exciting youngster in the summer, a youngster compared to an £83m star.
Spurs' potential £83m superstar in the making
Now, while all the talents mentioned above are already officially Tottenham players and will be next season – lest they be sold for some reason – the player in question might not be, despite starting for the team last Thursday.
Mathys Tel joined the Lilywhites on a short-term loan last month, but, importantly, there is an option to buy in the deal at £45m, and while his next move is not entirely down to the North Londoners, reports from last month seemed to indicate that he’d be open to staying for the long term.
Now, there might be some fans who remain unconvinced by the 19-year-old attacker, and considering he’s not hit the ground running in England, scoring one goal in six games, that would be understandable.
However, during his still relatively limited game time for Bayern Munich last season, he showed just why respected talent scout Jacek Kulig described him as a “mind-blowing talent.”
In just 1406 minutes of first-team football, he scored ten goals and provided six assists, which comes out to an astounding average of a goal involvement every 87.87 minutes and also saw him win comparisons to Borussia Dortmund’s rising star, Jamie Gittens.
Appearances
41
Starts
10
Minutes
1406′
Goals
10
Assists
6
Goal Involvements per Match
0.39
Minutes per Goal Involvement
87.87′
The comparison primarily stemmed from FBref, which compared players in similar positions in the Bundesliga last season, created a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and concluded that the Englishman was the fifth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Frenchman.
The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair ranked closely, including, but not limited to, non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots, live passes, blocks, clearances, shot-creating actions and more, all per 90.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.52
0.43
Progressive Passes
2.31
2.20
Shots
3.69
3.66
Expected Assists
0.26
0.25
Live Passes
33.2
30.3
Shot-Creating Actions
3.86
3.92
Blocks
0.94
0.93
Clearances
0.51
0.59
Carries
35.5
33.8
While the comparison to one of the most exciting talents in Germany is already encouraging enough regarding the Sarcelles-born star’s development, it’s also a good sign for his future value.
For example, it was only last month that the German publication Bild, as relayed by the BBC, reported that Dortmund value their incredible youngster at up to £83m in light of his growing reputation and the interest in him from other sides.
So, if the young Englishman is worth such an astounding amount of money and is so statistically similar to the Bayern loanee, who’s to say that he, too, won’t be worth as much down the line once he gets even more game time?
Therefore, while he has not hit the ground running at Tottenham, Levy and Co should be doing all they can to bring Tel to N17 this summer, as with the right coaching, he could be an extraordinarily valuable asset on and off the pitch in the future.
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