Ange Postecoglou makes Mathys Tel vow and explains leaving Spurs duo out of Liverpool tie

Ange Postecoglou has insisted loan signing Mathys Tel is “more than 100 per cent” committed to Tottenham after convincing the French forward to join on the phone.

The Bayern Munich teenager hesitated over his move to Spurs amid interest from Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Manchester United. But the France Under 21 international is now set to make his English debut in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Anfield on Thursday night.

A late deal was done for an £8million loan deal with the option to buy Tel for £45m in the summer. And asked if he is 100 per cent convinced that the versatile striker wants to be at Tottenham, the Aussie boss stated: “100 per cent. More than 100. Because he took so much time and was so diligent about finding out everything.

“When he made the decision it was us, and he obviously had options, that gave me even more confidence we were getting the right kind of mentality and player. He is very ambitious and has a great deal of self belief and self confidence.

“He feels like he can reach the very top of the game and he has chosen us which is great vindication for what we are doing. People need to understand that you are talking about a 19-year-old player who has to make a major decision about his career. It’s not so much that he rejected us or anyone else.

“Rightly so he was getting as much information as possible. More than anything I think he just wanted to be comfortable with the decision. The sense I get was he didn’t want to be pushed in a certain direction. I think it is credit to him that he took his time and spoke to the right people.”

Postecoglou added: “I had a conversation with him and mine was purely about football. I think he will find a really great place for him in terms of where he is in his career. He obviously wants to play and we have already shown that irrespective of age you will get an opportunity here.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

“And I think the way we play would suit him and certainly with what we have in the next few months and more importantly what we are building beyond I thought it would be a perfect fit for his next step. At the same time I think it was right to take as long as he did and he was totally comfortable with it.”

Tel was one of four reinforcements brought into the Spurs squad during the January window with former Lens centre-back Kevin Danso also set to make his debut. And Postecoglou will not risk defenders Micky van de Ven and Cristiano Romero with Radu Draguisan ruled out for the rest of the season.

“With Micky, and Romero to a certain extent, I kind of feel we have to be a bit more conservative with them. Micky got through the game alright but I don’t think he feels ready for that step up to the Premier League, the intensity of it. Same with Romero.

Image: Daniel Derajinski/Icon Sport) Daniel Derajinski/Icon Sport)

“After losing Radu for the rest of the season, which is really disappointing for him and for us, my view is and I made the decision that I don’t want to risk losing these guys. We are going to keep them ticking over in training and try to make sure they are absolutely ready without any more setbacks.”

Tottenham take a 1-0 lead to Anfield as they seek a first trophy since the 2008 League Cup. Asked if he will change his attacking philosophy for the second leg, Postecoglou snapped: “It depends what you think that philosophy is.

“My philosophy is to try to win games of football. We're going to try to win a game of football tomorrow night, which will get us to the final of a cup, which will be a great opportunity for us. If people haven’t understood my philosophy after 26 years of management, I don't think anything I say now is going to change any of that.”

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