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Published January 30, 2025 12:55am Updated January 30, 2025 12:56am
Bayern Munich have confirmed that Mathys Tel wants to leave the club in January amid transfer interest from Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Tel has found it hard to get regular minutes in Vincent Kompany’s side, with the young Frenchman behind the likes of Michael Olise, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry in the pecking order.
That lack of playing time has led the 19-year-old, who is yet to score a goal in all competition this season, to consider his future with the German club.
And the winger has now decided to seek a move away from Bayern in the final week of January transfer window, with a host of Premier League clubs immediately interested in exploring a deal.
Despite speculation linking him with an exit, Tel made a surprise start – just his fourth of the season – in Bayern’s Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday evening.
Tel appeared to wave goodybe to fans when he was brought off in the 62nd minute and, speaking after the game Bayern’s director of sport Max Eberl confirmed Tel had asked to leave the club.
Eberl hinted that the club would be open to a loan or permenant departure but warned interested clubs that they had received unprecedented demand for the Frenchman’s services.
‘We spoke in December and Mathys said he wanted to settle down. Now he says he wants to leave,’ Eberl said. ‘We have to think about whether we will do that and what we will do.
‘He said that the playing time was not enough for him and that is understandable. However, we would have liked him to keep fighting.
‘There is no bad blood. I can understand him. I have rarely had so many clubs call me about a player before.’
Bayern skipper Manuel Neuer, meanwhile, hinted that a move could be beneficial for Tel’s progression.
‘It’s definitely important for young players to get match practice,’ the German said at full-time.
‘He didn’t get enough of that with us. Maybe it’s the right step for him.’
Tel, himself, was quizzed about a departure from Bayern after the game but simply told Sky Germany: ‘I don’t know.’
Chelesea are one of the clubs who explored a deal for Tel earlier in the window, but the Frenchman is said to have reservations about a move to Stamford Bridge because of the strong competition for a starting spot in Enzo Maresca’s side.
Arsenal have held a long-standing interest in Tel but the Gunners seem to have made Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins their number-one target in the final days of the window.
The Gunners saw an opening £60m bid for the England striker rejected on Wednesday but are expected to test Villa’s resolve with another bid in the coming days.
United, who are closing in on their first signing of the window, have also been credited with an interest in Tel and could provide a home and regular minutes for the forward as they consider selling both Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford.
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