Alan Smith claims ‘awkward’ Tottenham star wasn’t sure what to do in role vs West Ham

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Former forward Alan Smith was not totally convinced by one Tottenham Hotspur player’s performance in his side’s 3-0 win against West Ham United on Saturday.

Thomas Frank went with an attack of Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons, with the last of that trio making his debut for Tottenham.

Frank had Tel, Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani as options for the centre-forward position, but he went with the former Bayern Munich man in the end.

Tel has no plans to leave Spurs despite being left out of their squad for the league phase of the Champions League.

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Alan Smith thought Mathys Tel looked ‘awkward’ in No.9 role

Tel has experience playing as a striker, but the 20-year-old has made more appearances on the left.

Smith suggested that that was his best position, claiming that he looked “awkward” leading the line for Frank’s men at the London Stadium.

While on commentary duty for Sky Sports (13/09/2025 at 18:15), the ex-Arsenal player said: “It’s just a bit awkward for Tel up front now. You can see it’s not his natural position. He’s not entirely sure [about] the runs he should be making.”

Before the game, Frank confirmed that Kolo Muani was ready to play, but the 26-year-old was only named on the bench and did not get an opportunity to come on and make his debut.

Once Kolo Muani returns to full fitness, it will be interesting to see whether Frank goes with the Frenchman or Richarlison.

While Tel remains an option for the striker position, you would expect one of the above names to be Spurs’ first-choice No.9 this season.

How many games has Mathys Tel played as a striker?

Perhaps it did not look like it at the London Stadium, but again, Tel has been used as a centre-forward before.

In fact, according to Transfermarkt, the France Under-21 international has played as one 42 times in his young career so far.

Going forward, though, you would expect Frank to utilise him on the left. Had Richarlison not played for Brazil over the international break and done so much travelling, he probably would have got the nod over his teammate on Saturday.