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James Maddison has become the second Tottenham Hotspur player to speak glowingly of the level that Mathys Tel shows in training.
Tel failed to take his opportunities at the start of the season, and he is yet to register a goal or an assist this season, with Spurs fans being left frustrated by the Frenchman’s inconsistencies.
Roberto De Zerbi left the 20-year-old out of the matchday squad against Aston Villa before the international break, and the forward was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw against United.
However, based on what a couple of Tel’s teammates are saying, it is only a matter of time before the former Bayern Munich man starts delivering in the Premier League.
Earlier this month, Spurs Web relayed a surprising statement from Sandro Tonali about the France U21 international.
Tonali named Tel as the quickest and most skilful player in the Spurs squad, which surprised the supporters, as we have not seen the forward showcase his pace and skill in the Premier League.
Maddison has now seconded Tonali’s statement, with the attacking midfielder suggesting that we will see the best of Tel in a Spurs shirt if the team can get him into one-v-one situations regularly.
When asked to name the most skilful player in the Tottenham squad, Maddison told Sky Sports: “I went with Mathys Tel. Just super quick feet, super quick. Just very good one-on-one. Even today in small-sided games, his feet were so sharp. If we can get Mathys into one-v-one situations more, I think you’ll see the best of him.
“Especially this year, with this manager, we’re playing more attacking football. If we can get him the ball a lot, then he can torment some full-backs. Great quick feet.”
Maddison was also asked to name the teacher’s pet in the Tottenham squad, and it did not take a long time for the former Leicester man to give his answer.
The 29-year-old admitted that summer signing Jan Paul van Hecke gets a lot of stick from his teammates for being tight with De Zerbi.
Maddison even added jokingly that the hug Van Hecke gets from the Spurs boss is different to the hug that other players get, adding: “It’s like a father hugging his son.”
He said: “It’s JP Van Hecke. He’s just joined, but they’ve known each other. The hug he gets in the morning is a different sort of hug to the rest of the lads. It’s like a father hugging his son, you know. Obviously, they worked together at Brighton. JP’s a great player. Obviously, he’s going to be a fan of him, but he bought him to his second club as well. So, we give JP a bit of stick about that!”