- EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey
Mathys Tel has signed a new contract with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich after rebuffing interest from Premier League giants Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
HITC Football understands that the teenage forward, who put pen to paper on a new deal until 2029 this week, was on the radar of some of England’s biggest clubs heading into the summer window.
Mathys Tel has admirers at Arsenal and Chelsea, two clubs who have invested heavily in youth in recent times. Manchester United are also keen on a teenager who scored against Erik ten Hag’s side in the Champions League group-stages.
But Tel, who joined Bayern Munich in a £17 million deal from Rennes back in 2022, has now opted to commit his long-term future to the Allianz Arena outfit instead. As such, should he see out the remainder of his contract in Germany, Tel will be a Bayern player for another five seasons at least.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United frustrated
HITC have been informed that Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United all made preliminary advances for the France Under 21 international. There was also an approach from a Paris Saint-Germain side taking a more homegrown approach these days.
PSG spent heavily on Frenchmen Lucas Hernandez, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Randal Kolo Muani last year, with former Rennes whizzkid Tel potentially lined up to replace Kylian Mbappe on the left-hand side of Luis Enrique’s frontline.
At the age of just 18, Tel is obviously far from the finished article. But, with his searing pace and his tendency to cut in from the left, there are obvious similarities with a Monaco-era Mbappe. Tel scored a seventh goal of the season in Mbappe-esque fashion during Bayerns’s 2-2 draw with Freiburg on Friday, fizzing a long-range shot into the corner from the edge of the box.
“He’s a very young, talented player who can play different positions,” said Julian Nagelsmann, who was the Bayern boss when the so-called ‘next Mbappe’ arrived in Bavaria.
“He is very quick, strong with his body. He’s good at defending the ball with his back towards the opponent’s goal.
“I have the vision that he could score 40 goals (in one season) one day in the future.”
Mathys Tel signs new Bayern Munich deal
HITC Football understands that Arsenal are keen on boosting Mikel Arteta’s attacking ranks this summer, with central strikers Ivan Toney and Dusan Vlahovic under consideration. Tel, however, is more a wide-forward than a classic number nine. First-team opportunities are arguably more attainable at Bayern than they are at the Emirates, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli growing season-on-season.
Mbappe, meanwhile, scored twice as PSG reached the quarter-finals of the Champions Legue with a 4-1 aggregate win over Real Sociedad on Tuesday. Head coach Luis Enrique confirmed in hte aftermath that the seemingly-Real Madrid bound superstar ‘won’t be here in the near future’, with HITC having been informed that AC Milan talisman Raphael Leao is a potential successor.
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