Tottenham Hotspur are expected to complete the permanent signing of Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel, according to reports.
Tel spent the second half of last season on loan at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, helping the club win the Europa League – their first major trophy in 17 years.
He only scored three goals and provided one assist in 20 appearances for the Londoners, but his potential is sky-high. That’s why Bayern signed him from Stade Rennes for £17million in 2022.
It’s disappointing that he won’t realise that potential in Munich, but their loss could be Tottenham’s gain – even if his six-month loan spell didn’t exactly fill supporters with confidence.
Martin Odegaard had a similarly low-key loan spell at Arsenal in 2021, but has since developed into one of the world’s best midfielders – so there’s reason for optimism at Spurs.
Tel is reportedly set to become Tottenham’s third signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Kevin Danso – who initially joined in January – and Luka Vuskovic.
According to transfer journalists Christian Falk and Tobi Altschaffl, Bayern and Spurs are ‘close to reaching an agreement’.
They claim Tel will join the Premier League side for ‘around €35million’ (£29.7m). It’s believed Spurs paid a €10m loan fee in January, meaning the total deal is effectively worth €45m (£38.2m).
News of a permanent transfer was also confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, who says Tel will stay to work under new head coach Thomas Frank following the sacking of Ange Postecoglou.
Romano wrote on X: “Mathys Tel will leave Bayern and join Spurs on permanent deal, agreement set to be reached. €35m fee in addition to €10m loan fee, as BILD @cfbayern @altobelli13 reported.
“Tel, set to stay at Tottenham also under new head coach Thomas Frank.”
After sharing the news on social media, Christian Falk provided more insight in his CF Bayern Insider column.
The German journalist reports that Spurs are not exercising the buy option in their loan agreement with the Bundesliga champions, which was set at €45million.
Bayern were ‘prepared to negotiate’ a higher fee for the sale of Tel but ended up agreeing to a ‘cut-price’ deal, as the 20-year-old would’ve continued to struggle for game time under Vincent Kompany. Their initial valuation was €60m (£51m).
The report adds that Kompany’s side have to sell before they buy, with Arsenal and Barcelona-linked Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams one of their top summer targets.
Williams’ agent has met with Bayern twice in recent weeks but has also discussed a move with Barca sporting director Deco.