Who is Mathys Tel? Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea target set for major deadline-beating transfer
Tottenham have agreed a £50million deal with Bayern Munich to sign French striker Mathys Tel but the transfer is far from guaranteed, as Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea consider a late hijack
by Nathan Ridley · The MirrorRemember the name, Mathys Tel, as he's about to be one of the biggest stories in the final days of the January transfer window.
As Monday's 11pm deadline approaches, even the Premier League's biggest clubs are scrambling for reinforcements. There's a common them among a certain trio - Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea - they all want a striker.
Whether it be Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee leading the line, United can't get their current centre forwards to score. Arsenal don't even have a recognised striker in the squad, forcing Kai Havertz to carry the goalscoring burden. And Chelsea are still persisting with the frustrating Nicolas Jackson.
That's all brought their attention to Tel, who's keen to leave Bayern Munich between now and deadline day in search of more regular minutes. Tottenham have stolen a march by agreeing a stunning £50million deal with Bayern amid striker Dominic Solanke's continued absence through injury, but Spurs' move still hinges on the 19-year-old's decision.
So, who is Mathys Tel? Mirror Football takes a look.
Born in Sarcelles, a commune in northern Paris, the undisputed hotbed of modern-day footballing talent, you could Tel how talented he was from a young age (first and only pun out the way). Having come through the ranks at Paris FC, Tel joined Rennes in 2020 and was prolific in the Ligue 1 side's academy.
That led to him making his professional debut when he was just 16 years and 110 days old in August 2021. In doing so, Tel became Rennes' young-ever senior debutant, breaking a record held by current Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.
A year later, Bayern shelled out £23.8million to sign him amid comparisons to French icons Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe. Different club, same story. In one of his first appearances, 17-year-old Tel became the youngest goalscorer in Bayern's illustrious history.
Should Man Utd, Arsenal or Chelsea hijack Tottenham's deal for Mathys Tel? Have your say in the comments section.
The striker ended his first campaign in Bavaria with six goals in 28 appearances, helping fill the void left by Robert Lewandowski. But then came Harry Kane. Despite 10 goals - including one against United - and six assists across 41 appearances last season, Tel was (understandably) forced to play second fiddle to the England captain and reportedly grew frustrated under Thomas Tuchel.
During the middle portion of the season, as Bayern's Bundesliga title defence collapsed and Tuchel agreed to leave at the end of the campaign, Tel was criticised by his manager. "He is no longer as aggressive when he comes. He no longer has the absolute wild urge to go for the goal," Tuchel claimed, admitting that it was 'normal' for the youngster's development to stall.
But under Vincent Kompany this term, Tel has struggled even more and continues to be a regular substitute. The Frenchman, who remains uncapped at senior level despite being prolific for France's youth teams, has failed to score a single goal in 14 games but was handed a rare start in Wednesday's Champions League clash with Slovan Bratislava.
Unfortunately, he was hooked after the hour mark. A minute after his substitution, Bayern scored their second goal through Kane.
Tel's replacement, Kingsley Coman, also got on the scoresheet. At full-time, the teenager was seen appearing to wave goodbye to Bayern's fans, with his two-and-a-half-year stint set to come to an end.
Kompany said in his post-match press conference when asked about the Tel's future: "I have nothing to say about that at the moment. Mathys is our player. We are in close contact with him and his agents. [Bayern chiefs] Christoph [Freund] or Max [Eberl] can say more about what happens in the next few hours or days."
Asked if his decision to start Tel was purely down to football reasons, Kompany added: "I had no ulterior motives about starting Mathys today. As long as he is a Bayern player, the only thing that matters to me is how he performs in training and in games. We will do everything else together with him and the club."
However, Bayern director of sport Eberl later told the media: "We spoke in December and Mathys said he wanted to establish himself. Now he said he wants to leave. We have to think about whether we will do it and what we will do.
"He said that the playing time wasn't enough for him and that's understandable. Nevertheless, we would have liked him to keep fighting. There's no bad blood. I can understand him. I've rarely had so many clubs call me about a player before."
Tel's situation appears to be moving quickly but anything can happen right up until the eleventh hour of a transfer window. Whether he gets his desired move or not, his talent means that he should be one to watch regardless.
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