Thierry Henry hails ‘extraordinary’ £17m ace who snubbed Tottenham move

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Mathys Tel is doing ‘extraordinary things’ since turning his nose up at a summer move to Tottenham Hotspur, according to the Bayern Munich forward’s France U21 coach and Premier League legend Thierry Henry. 

While Mathys Tel is currently shining alongside Harry Kane at Bayern, there was a chance – towards the end of the window – that he could have taken his place in North London instead. 

According to The Telegraph, Tottenham Hotspur made enquiries about Tel’s availability. Spurs were keen to use Bayern’s desire to bring Kane to Germany as an opportunity to land one of Europe’s best young forwards in exchange, though those hopes quickly went up in smoke. 

Tel, according to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, never had any intention of leaving Bayern. 

And Allianz Arena boss Thomas Tuchel will be delighted he took that stance, the teenager scoring six times already this term despite starting only two games in all competitions. 

Tottenam wanted Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel

Tel, cutting in from the left onto his razor-like right boot, has often been likened to a young Thierry Henry, and now the 18-year-old has the seal of approval from the man himself. 

“He does extraordinary things,” Les Bleus youth coach Henry tells Kicker, Tel in line for a maiden U21 cap during the October international break. 

“When he enters a match, you see it. Already, he is scoring goals. When he comes on, he always faces forward. And even if he plays only one minute, he creates two chances.

“This is not to be overlooked. Of course, he still has things to work on. He’s young. (Tel must improve when) playing with his back to goal, with his control.

“But he already has what you sometimes have to say to an attacker; ‘You have to press , you have to run behind the defence, you have to be tough…’ 

“He already does all that, and scores goals. It’s still quite impressive, especially considering his minutes.” 

Six goals in just two starts this season

Bayern Munich paid an initial £17 million to sign a then-17-year-old Tel from Rennes back in 2022, with an eye-watering, eyebrow-raising investment already paying dividends.