Tottenham Hotspur were reportedly willing to satisfy two conditions that Manchester United were not in the race to land talented Bayern Munich attacker Mathys Tel in the closing hours of the winter transfer window.
Spurs’ pursuit of the French forward looked dead after Tel rejected a permanent switch to north London last week. However, what looked like an impossible deal has now been resurrected as Ange Postecoglou’s men close in on the loan signing of the 19-year-old.
Journalist Florian Plettenberg told Sky Sports News United had been in talks over a deal for the France Under-21 international until Sunday evening before the negotiations fell through.
Plettenberg then added that Tel has decided to join Tottenham after all, as he felt that they offered the best project in terms of assuring him game time until the end of the current season.
Adding to that, transfer insider Graeme Bailey has now explained to United in Focus that there are two main reasons why Spurs beat their Premier League rivals to Tel’s signature.
One of those is that the German club demanded a substantial loan fee of £6.5m for just a four-month loan spell, which the Red Devils had no interest in paying.
However, Tottenham agreed to pay the amount to the Bundesliga giants to secure the teenager’s services on a temporary deal – especially given their ongoing injury crisis.
Additionally, Bailey states that Rubem Amorim’s men were insisting on adding an option to buy to the loan deal, while Spurs were more receptive to a straight loan agreement – a move Bayern and Tel were clearly happier with, given how highly the Bavarian giants still value the player for the future.
It’s an unusual deal for Tottenham to agree to and pretty much sums up the situation they are with regards their forward line, with Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Timo Werner and Wilson Odobert all still out.
It does mean that signing Tel permanently is going to become incredibly difficult for Spurs in the summer, if he does make a big impression in north London – with his value almost certain to skyrocket.
Tel is poised to become Tottenham’s third signing of the January transfer window following the arrivals of Antonin Kinsky and Sunday’s confirmation of Kevin Danso’s transfer from RC Lens to bolster the defence.
Postecoglou urged to use Tel centrally
Meanwhile, Plettenberg has also explained how Postecoglou should use the French forward in the remaining months of the season.
Tel is capable of laying through the middle or out wide, but Plettenberg is adamant as to where his best position is.
He told Sky Sports News: “This is a very good solution for Tel, Tottenham and Bayern.
“He has reconsidered his decision. He was in talks with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. I’m convinced that in the end Spurs have presented the best project in order to get match practice. This is the most important for Tel.
“Now it’s up to Postecoglou to place him in the right position. He’s not a winger, he’s a striker. Let him strike, let him score goals!”