New Tottenham Hotspur signing ruled out for eight matches after £30m move

Tottenham Hotspur have submitted their 25-man UEFA Champions League squad list for the 2025-26 season.

Spurs have left a number of first-team players out of Thomas Frank’s Champions League squad for fixtures in this year’s ‘League Phase’.

Frank’s side are scheduled to play Villarreal (h), Bodø/Glimt (a), AS Monaco (a), FC Copenhagen (h), Paris Saint-Germain (a), Slavia Prague (h), Borussia Dortmund (h) and Eintracht Frankfurt (a) in this season’s ‘League Phase’.

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James Maddison’s absence is more understandable than others given he is sidelined until the New Year after undergoing ACL surgery (Image credit: Getty Images)

However, they will be without the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Kota Takai, Radu Dragusin and Yves Bissouma.

None of the aforementioned players have made the cut for Spurs’ A List, nor has permanent summer addition Mathys Tel.

Mathys Tel in Champions League action for previous club Bayern Munich (Image credit: Getty Images)

UEFA rules state: “No club may have more than 25 players on List A during the season. As a minimum, eight places are reserved exclusively for ‘locally trained players’ and no club may have more than four ‘association-trained players’ listed in these eight places on List A.

“List A must specify the players who qualify as being ‘locally trained’, as well as whether they are ‘club-trained’ or ‘association-trained’.

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Club-trained players are those who have spent three years, continuous or not, in the academy setup at Spurs between the ages of 15 and 21.

Meanwhile, the term ‘association-trained’ is more commonly known as ‘homegrown’ and relates to players who were trained in England but not necessarily with Spurs over the same period as above.

Tel joined on an initial loan in January but his stay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was made permanent at the beginning of the summer.

The Frenchman signed a six-year contract which came into effect on July 1, and has made two appearances in the Premier League so far this season, but there is no room for him in Frank’s Champions League group. As per UEFA’s rules, Tel and the other absentees can play no part in Spurs’ eight ‘League Phase’ matches.

“After the completion of the league phase and before the start of the knockout phase, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition. Such registrations must be completed by 5 February 2026,” UEFA regulations state.

Therefore, if Tel hits a rich vein of form in the Premier League over the winter period, Frank may look to bring him into the Champions League squad by replacing another player who has not featured, picked up an injury or lost form, if Spurs have qualified for the knockout phase.