Mathys Tel is not keen on a permanent move to Tottenham Hotspur and intends to assess a loan deal, with Manchester United and Aston Villa credible options.
The i Paper has been told that this stance is no slight on Tottenham as a club, more that Tel wants first-team opportunities he believes he may not get there.
The Bayern Munich forward had been the subject of a £60m bid, with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy travelling to Germany on Friday to move the transfer along.
However, the north London club have been unable to sway his decision.
As reported on Thursday, Tel is especially interested in seeing whether United make their move.
Ruben Amorim has been pursuing Tel along with Lecce left-back Patrick Dorgu as he looks to make his first signings since taking from Erik ten Hag as manager at Old Trafford.
So many Premier League clubs have expressed an interest in Tel that the 19-year-old and his representatives are biding their time and assessing his preferences before the transfer window closes on Monday.
Villa are hopeful they can make a late play for his services as they also toy with a loan move for Marcus Rashford.
The England international’s strained relationship with Amorim hit a new low when the United boss suggested he would rather pick 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital than Rashford.
As for Tottenham, they are yet to sign any outfield players this January after bringing in goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky in the first week of the window.
Tel’s signing would have bolstered a depleted attack that is without the injured Dominic Solanke, Timo Werner, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson, but Ange Postecoglou’s side will be forced to look elsewhere or make do with the young forwards who excelled against Elfsborg in midweek.
Bayern are willing to sanction Tel’s exit, with the Frenchman having been used sparingly in the Bundesliga, making just two league starts and six substitute appearances, registering one assist.
In the Champions League he has made three appearances and two more in the DFB-Pokal.
It is now simply a question of which move he decides to make as he prepares a switch to the Premier League.