Tottenham news: Why French trio Randal Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert are struggling at Spurs
Tottenham and their French attack face Paris Saint-Germain this Wednesday in the Champions League. However, the Frenchies are struggling this season.
It is rather rare to highlight, but PSG and Tottenham could both field an all-French attack that would be competitive in a fictional world. Indeed, we could very well imagine Paris with a Barcola-Dembele-Doue trio facing a London attack formed by Mathys Tel, Randal Kolo Muani and Wilson Odobert.
Luis Enrique could start all three Frenchmen this Wednesday (9pm) for this fifth Champions League matchday, if Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue were present and at 100 percent. However, Tottenham would certainly not trust this French attack for such an encounter. Indeed, the Spurs Frenchies are not in excellent form on the London side.
Mathys Tel not registered in Champions League
© Imago
Thomas Frank firstly decided not to register Mathys Tel in the Champions League squad. And the France Under-21 international is not making his manager regret this choice as he is struggling at the start of this season. He has thus played 10 encounters between the Premier League and the EFL Cup, including four as a starter, for only two goals scored. The 20-year-old player is struggling to deliver at Tottenham, whilst he was very impressive as a super-sub at Bayern Munich. At the start of this season, he has not been able to take advantage of Dominic Solanke’s absence to establish himself, just like Randal Kolo Muani.
In the Champions League, the Spurs manager had to make a difficult decision due to the problems the club encountered in promoting their young players, and Tel only managed to make a strong impression when he got his chance in the Premier League, scoring a goal against Leeds before producing a superb overhead kick against Manchester United. Tel does not yet seem to have found his best position within the Spurs team, playing both on the wings and as a centre-forward, but the player’s age of 20 must be taken into account.
Randal Kolo Muani still searching for his first Tottenham goal
© Imago
The striker on loan from PSG, who was hampered by a muscle contusion from late September to early November, is registered in the Champions League. However, he is also overtaken by Richarlison at striker. In nine matches played, he has still not found the back of the net for now.
It is therefore logical that Thomas Frank prefers the Brazilian – five goals, two assists in 19 matches – to the France international, who still does not seem to have found his feet in London. The former Nantes player must still regret the failure of his transfer to Juventus, which also made Nasser Al-Khelaifi lose his temper this summer.
It is difficult to properly assess Kolo Muani’s start at Spurs so far. He arrived without having participated in pre-season and, whilst Richarlison was in great form, he suffered a thigh injury, then a painful jaw fracture. All of this has contributed to the PSG loanee playing just 345 minutes for his new club so far, including only four starts. Still waiting for his first Spurs goal and with just one assist to his name, Kolo Muani has fallen victim to Spurs’ well-known problems building play from the back and creating chances, and he often finds himself isolated in attack. He needs a run of games, but with Dominic Solanke’s return from injury, that seems unlikely.
Wilson Odobert, the most integrated Frenchman at Spurs
© Imago / Sportimage
Ultimately, it is the least well-known French striker of the three who is faring best, namely Wilson Odobert. The left winger indeed has more playing time than his compatriots with 15 encounters played since the start of the campaign, including eight starts, for one goal and two assists.
A surprise transfer last summer, it is easy to forget that Wilson Odobert is still only 20 and that his first season at Spurs has also been disrupted by physical problems. The former Burnley player was only a substitute at the start of the season, but he showed flashes of his potential before the international break, scoring against Copenhagen before his shot against Manchester United led to a Richarlison assist. Odobert’s progress earned him a starting spot against Arsenal ahead of Xavi Simons, but he and his teammates underperformed on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium (4-1 defeat). Nevertheless, the Frenchman is slowly but surely starting to generate excitement.
The 20-year-old player, who was trained at PSG, should thus have playing time this Wednesday evening on the Parc des Princes pitch, just like Randal Kolo Muani, but likely as a super-sub. And this, whilst Mathys Tel will be absent.
This article was originally published on Top Mercato.
