Ange Postecoglou has insisted Mathys Tel will be a Tottenham player next season.
Spurs pulled off an eye-catching deadline day move when they brought in Bayern Munich forward Tel on a six-month loan.
The deal includes the option for Tottenham to make the move permanent for a fee of 55million euros (45.8m) plus 5m euros (£4.1m) in add-ons and, while Tel has a say in that clause, the PA news agency understands he has already agreed a six-year contract which highlights his willingness to stay long-term.
Asked ahead of Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Liverpool if Tel will be a Spurs player next season, Postecoglou declared: “He’ll be a Tottenham player, mate.
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“He’ll be a Tottenham player. I think he’ll show everyone he’s going to be a Tottenham player in the next six months. I didn’t bring him here for six months.
“I think he is very, very exciting. When you meet him, you realise he’s got that bit about him as a person who has enormous self-belief and confidence in what he can do and what he wants to do.
“Even though he’s young, physically he’s already in a place where he can take on the enormous challenges of being an attacking player in the Bundesliga and I think he can handle the Premier League.
“He’s a goalscorer, he can take people on, he’s got speed. He is exciting. I’d be very surprised if there was a club that wouldn’t be interested in somebody like him.
“Irrespective of the situation we’re in, us being able to get him in and the circumstances behind it, is fantastic for the football club.”
Postecoglou defended Tel’s right to take his time over the decision after it appeared talks with the 19-year-old had collapsed last Friday before a conversation with the Spurs boss on Sunday seemed the clincher.
All eyes will be on what role Tel has in Tottenham’s biggest match of the season away to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final, where they hold a one-goal advantage from last month’s first leg.
While Spurs’ form in the Premier League has taken a hit over the past three months due to a hefty injury crisis, Postecoglou has navigated cup progress and they are on the verge of a first Wembley final in four years.
Current captain Son Heung-min featured in that Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City and is the longest serving player after Ben Davies, who joined in 2014. Postecoglou can sense in the duo a desire to end the club’s well-documented 17-year trophy drought.
“I think he’s got a real clear focus in his eye that he senses an opportunity for us as a football club, not just for himself, to have success this year,” Postecoglou said of Son.
“Ben Davies is another one who’s really stepped up in recent times. Two guys who have been at this club for a long time and understand what success will do for this club.
“For Sonny, everything he’s done for the club, it would be more than fitting for him to get some trophies to add to his status at this club.”
A cauldron of noise awaits at Anfield, but Postecoglou knows Spurs have earned the right to be in this position after wins over Coventry, Manchester City and Manchester United already in the competition.
“To get to a final, it’s going to be hard earned,” Postecoglou added.
“It’s a massive night for us but I think we’ve earned the right to be in this position even though it’s been a real difficult season for us.
“We’ve earned the right to make a big impact.”
