Tottenham have completed the loan signing of the Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel with an option to buy for £50m in the summer after going back in for one of the hottest properties of the winter transfer window.
It appeared at the end of last week that the 19-year-old was not inclined to join Spurs, where the manager, Ange Postecoglou, has been desperate for a new attacking option. Tottenham had offered £50m to make a permanent deal happen straight away.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United had been among the other clubs to look at Tel, who has fallen out of favour at Bayern, making only four starts this season under the manager, Vincent Kompany. But Spurs were able to talk him round, Postecoglou playing a key role, the player and his agent, Gadiri Camara, flying to London before the deadline to finalise the move.
Tel fits the profile for Spurs’ project – specifically, that he is young and gifted – and Postecoglou can be relieved at his signing given how hard the club have been hit by injuries in recent weeks, the absentee list regularly running into double digits. Brennan Johnson, Dominic Solanke, Wilson Odobert and Timo Werner are the forwards currently out.
The day brought confirmation of Postecoglou’s worst fears in another problem area – central defence – with Radu Dragusin facing a long-term absence with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The Romanian sustained the damage in the Europa League win against Elfsborg last Thursday.
Spurs had signed the centre-half Kevin Danso from Lens on Sunday, taking him on loan with an obligation to buy for £20.9m in the summer but the Dragusin setback came on top of the situation with the club’s other specialists in the position – Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
Romero’s thigh problem is “tricky”, Postecoglou said, and it is not clear when he will be back, having been out since 8 December. Van de Ven, who injured his hamstring on the same date, made his comeback against Elfsborg, playing the first 45 minutes. But he was left out of the squad that won at Brentford on Sunday amid fears that something was not quite right.
It meant Spurs tried to sign another centre-back but they were unable to persuade Crystal Palace to sell Marc Guéhi, despite making an offer of £70m including bonuses. Guéhi, who starred for England during their run to the Euro 2024 final, will be out of contract in 18 months. Newcastle tried to sign him last summer and Chelsea looked at him this month. Liverpool are long-term admirers. Spurs will try again for him in the summer. Spurs also lost out to Aston Villa for the loan signing of the Chelsea central defender Axel Disasi. He simply preferred Villa.
Tel’s signing was the boost. He can play across the frontline but is on record as saying his preferred position is as an inside left, where he can cut on to his stronger right foot. The former Rennes player, who is 6ft tall, is known for his good first touch, clever movement and readiness to shoot.
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Tel, a product of France’s Clairefontaine academy, was a prodigy when he came through at Rennes in 2021‑22 as a 16-year-old, widely held to be one of most exciting young players in Europe. He made only 10 substitute appearances for the club, one of them in the 2-2 Europa Conference League draw against Spurs; his total minutes played was just 81.
But Bayern had seen enough, also in his appearances for France at youth level, to pay €28.5m for him. Tel scored six goals in his first season at Bayern; 10 last time out plus six assists. The ability has been there for all to see, sometimes in sustained bursts. But it has simply not happened for him this season, partly because of the intense competition for forward places at Bayern. Hence the openness for a fresh challenge.
Source: theguardian.com
