Manchester United’s hopes of luring Mathys Tel to the Premier League have suddenly suffered a major blow with Bayern Munich’s new sporting director expressing his desire to retain the Bundesliga starlet.
It is nearly two weeks since reports emerged suggesting that Manchester United had made contact with Mathys Tel’s camp, having ‘intensively analysed’ the £17 million teenager and installing him as one of their leading summer targets ahead of Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee.
Since then, a deal which felt ‘possible’ at the time appears to have become, well, a little more ‘improbable’.
Manchester United like Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel
Bayern Munich have confirmed that under-fire head coach Thomas Tuchel will leave at the end of the current campaign. Having not started Tel in a single Bundesliga game all season, the presence of Tuchel on the Allianz Arena touchline appeared to be a driving force behind the speculation surrounding the former Rennes whizzkid’s future.
Opportunities should be more forthcoming under Tuchel’s successor.
Furthermore, Bayern have now completed the long-mooted appointment of Max Eberl as their new sporting director. And, during his introductory press conference, the former Borussia Monchengladbach chief was keen to single out the role the so-called ‘next Kylian Mbappe’ could play going forward.
Not only in the present but in a post-Tuchel future.
“We want to bring the best possible players to Bayern who want the greatest possible success. That is, trophies,” Eberl says, via The Metro.
“Bayern has always done this with great foresight and an eye (for the future). That’s why the club is so special. It has grown solidly over decades. We will also find ways to find good players (and) also players like Mathys Tel.
“It must be possible to successfully lead Bayern to titles and still develop (young players). We want to promote the development of players like Tel.”
Tel seen as Bayern future
18-year-old Tel may have been something of a posterboy for a new, Ineos-led era at Old Trafford, the Red Devils priotising hungry young talents such as Michael Olise and Jarrad Branthwaite. Instead, the rapid-fire forward appears to have been ringfenced by Eberl – alongside Jamal Musiala – as a player capable of leading Bayern Munich’s next generation.
“Players like Tel and Musiala… young players who need to play,” Eberl adds, keen to help Bayern take a leaf out of Los Blancos’ playbook.
“Other big clubs like Real Madrid managed to integrate (Eduardo) Camavinga and (Aurelien) Tchouameni into a midfield with (Toni) Kroos, (Luka) Modric and Casemiro.”
Tel, interestingly, scored against United in the Champions League last year. The France Under-21 star has 12 in 56 Bayern Munich appearances in total.
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