Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank has left Mathys Tel out of the club’s Champions League squad for the league phase, with Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin also missing despite the possibility of returning from long-term injuries.
Frank faced difficult decisions due to UEFA’s squad regulations, which require a minimum number of homegrown players. Spurs were forced to exclude six names from their 25-man “A” list. Among those left out are James Maddison, sidelined for the season with an ACL injury, new signing Kota Takai, and Yves Bissouma, who is linked with a move to Turkey.
Tel, signed permanently from Bayern Munich for £30m in the summer after an initial loan, misses out following the deadline day arrival of Randal Kolo Muani from Paris Saint-Germain, another non-homegrown player. The decision marks a tough setback for the 20-year-old winger, who had hoped to feature prominently in Europe this season.
Spurs begin their campaign knowing that injured players such as Kulusevski and Dragusin could return before the group stage ends, leaving Frank with difficult balancing acts between fitness, form and UEFA rules.
