Mathys Tel appears to be Tottenham-bound. Bayern’s first team could still use him.
Mathys Tel was supposed to be the future of Bayern Munich. Not just Bayern Munich — maybe even German soccer.
Tel was only 17 years old when he was signed from Stade Rennais for €20 million. A steep price tag for someone so young, but Tel was no ordinary player. He was developed in the Stade Rennais academy — one of the best in France — and quickly made a name for himself. He debuted for the first team at 16 years and 110 days old, becoming the youngest player in the club’s illustrious history.
By the time he joined Bayern, the striker had already made ten appearances for the Stade Rennais first team. Internationally, he was also making an impact, scoring ten goals in 15 appearances for the France U17 and U18 national teams and captaining the French side that won the u17 Euros. Sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić called him “one of the biggest talents in Europe, a very quick, technically strong and versatile striker.”
And it wasn’t just Bayern that were taking notice of Tel. Just over a year after Tel arrived in Munich, Rudi Völler — himself a legendary striker for the German national team and at club level, and now the director of the German national team — even proposed the idea of trying to naturalize Tel to get him to play for Germany. This was quickly dismissed, but it was clear: Tel was a legitimate talent.
Three years after he first joined, though, it seems like his chapter in Munich is over for good.
Tel joined Bayern Munich at a time when the club was in turmoil. The manager who bought him, Julian Nagelsmann, would be sacked by the end of Tel’s first season. Salihamidžić, who Tel cited as an important factor in his joining the club, would last only until the end of the season.
Nagelsmann was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who himself wouldn’t last particularly long. While Tuchel was in charge, he would give Tel only ten starts — with most of his appearances coming on the wing, not centrally. His role as the club’s long-term striker was cast into further doubt with the €100 million Harry Kane signing, guaranteeing the Englishman would lead Bayern’s attack for the foreseeable future.
It is worth noting that, while he had his problems under Tuchel, Tel recorded a personal high 16 goal contributions in Tuchel’s lone full season with the club. However, Tuchel also didn’t completely trust Tel when it mattered most, not giving him a single minute in Bayern’s final four Champions League games in 2024. When winger Serge Gnabry was forced off with an injury in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final vs Real Madrid, left-back Alphonso Davies was subbed on instead.
Having won only one trophy in his time with Bayern, Thomas Tuchel and the club parted ways in after the 2023/24 ended. A chaotic coaching search (surprisingly) resulted in Burnley manager Vincent Kompany being named his replacement, a big style change from the more conservative Tuchel. With limited options in attack, this was a great chance for Tel to truly emerge, at least in theory. The problem? Kompany didn’t give him any minutes.
By the end of the January transfer window, Tel — now 20 — had played only 458 minutes, the fewest since he had joined. After repeated attempts to sell or loan him out, Tel finally decided to leave, albeit temporarily, heading to Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspurs. In England, he was able to find a much bigger role, playing three times as many minutes and recording three times as many goal contributions (still only jumping from one in Munich to three in London).
Despite his increased contributions and Spurs winning the Europa League, Spurs did not exercise their buy-option for Tel, reported to be nearly €60 million. They still are pursuing a deal for the Frenchman, though, recently confirmed by Bayern’s director Max Eberl. Further reports claim that Spurs are soon closing in on making the deal permanent for only €35 million. But could Tel still have been useful in Bavaria?
If Bayern’s attacking depth was bad before, it’s worse now. Thomas Müller, the preferred backup striker for Kompany last season, is leaving the club he has spent his entire career with. Leroy Sané has ended the transfer saga he created by joining Galatasaray on a free, while another winger, Kingsley Coman, has been strongly linked with an exit.
Fellow loanees and outcasts Bryan Zaragoza and Gabriel Vidović will also almost definitely be sold this summer despite being given minimal chances. Vidović, in particular, was recalled from his loan to Mainz in the January transfer window as the “Tel replacement,” IE a young, versatile sub, but played less than a half hour total by the end of the season.
As things stand, the Bundesliga side are expected to have two wingers — Serge Gnabry and Michael Olise — and one striker, Harry Kane. Not great. In attacking midfield, there’s star Jamal Musiala, who can also play on the left, and a host of promising players who will likely be loaned out again like Maurice Krattenmacher and Paul Wanner.
There are undoubtedly signings to follow, although, fresh off of being rejected by Florian Wirtz, it looks like that will not be as easy as it seems. Milan are being predictably difficult to negotiate with about Rafael Leão, for instance, while Athletic Club are fighting to keep Nico Williams.
The fact is, Mathys Tel has not developed much since joining Bayern. To give him a major role with the club after last season would have been surprising, and you can understand why the club want to move on. Still, there are a few things that could have made him very valuable to this team.
First, let’s start with the finances. According to BILD’s estimates last year, Mathys Tel makes €4 million a season — a whopping €16 million cheaper per year than Leroy Sané’s last contract. Sané might be gone now, but Bayern’s salary structure remains outrageous. The attackers the club are looking at have both high salary demands and sizable price tags, which the current management won’t be enthusiastic about.
This combined with his versatility makes him great value for money. After all, in addition to being a natural striker, he’s capable with both feet, making him a solid option on both wings. His dominant foot, though, is his right, and many of his goals with Bayern have come from him cutting in from the left to shoot with his right foot. With Olise on the right and Musiala in the middle behind Kane, the left wing is the weakest link in Bayern’s attack. Tel could have filled that role.
He also adds something Bayern’s current attack lacks — speed. A few years ago, Bayern’s attack was all about speed, but that has since changed in a big way. Last season, the quickest Bayern attacker was Galatasaray-bound Sané. Musiala and Olise are incredible players, but their strength lies in their dribbling ability — not pace. Harry Kane isn’t the slowest striker in the world, but he’s certainly not what could be described as a pacy forward.
Kane might be the player who would have benefitted the most from a Tel return. Tel would add a bit more of a counter-attacking threat, and also allow Kane to drop further back and help create as well as finish. Kane’s presence in attack would take the goalscoring burden off Tel, who often looked a little overwhelmed in his rare starts as striker. At the same time, Tel could still score and be a dangerous option from the wing.
Mathys Tel is far from flawless. If he was, Bayern would have never loaned him to Spurs, and Spurs wouldn’t have wasted a second to make his loan permanent. However, if he can become just a little more clinical and create a little more, he could be a real star and just what the Bavarians needed in attack. Either way, he would have been an improvement on the frustrating Leroy Sané.
Additionally, there’s the issue with Kompany. Kompany evidently wasn’t the Frenchman’s biggest fan, and at the same time, Tel didn’t do enough to make himself a guarantee on the team sheet. They would have needed to meet each other halfway and make sure there were no problems if he hypothetically stayed at the club.
Speedy wingers who are also strong dribblers and goal-scoring threats are in short supply right now. In fact, it looks almost certain Bayern will overpay for one this summer, while letting the one they have — Tel — depart this summer. Spurs and Tel will show how much of a mistake that might end up being.
–
Image via bundesliga.com.
