Tottenham Hotspur have agreed to sign Mathys Tel for a €10 million loan fee after Manchester United reportedly refused to pay half of that in negotiations with Bayern Munich.
A transfer race erupted across Europe after the 19-year-old forward declared his intention to leave Bayern in the final week of the January transfer window.
Tel had grown increasingly frustrated with a lack of first-team opportunities under Vincent Kompany, having been consigned to the bench in three consecutive games for Dir Roten.
United, who hold a long-standing interest in the French starlet, approached Bayern over a potential loan deal as the club’s finances could not stretch to a permanent transfer in the winter window. However, Spurs jumped the rapidly growing queue for Tel, which included Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa, by reaching a £50 million agreement with Bayern to sign the 19-year-old.
This appeared to draw an end to the race, only for Tel in a shock twist to reject the Lilywhites’ advances. Reports then emerged suggesting the Frenchman was “waiting” for a switch to Old Trafford, reigniting United’s pursuit.
Bayern were adamant they would not let Tel leave on loan without favourable terms, however.
A £5 million fee emerged as a sticking point between the clubs during negotiations, as did the German’s refusal to include a £45 million buy-option in the deal. Arsenal are believed to have hit a similar hurdle in their pursuit of Tel.
It appeared a road block had been reached with Tel’s only path out of Bavaria being a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which he had already rejected.
But the, in an even more sensational twist, an agreement was reached between Spurs and Bayern, with Tel’s blessing, and the 19-year-old boarded a plane to North London – for a loan move with a buy-option.
And now, Florian Plettenberg (Sky Sports Germany) reveals, it is the inclusion of an exorbitant “loan fee of €10 million” in the deal which appears to have won over officials at the Allianz Arena. Furthermore, Spurs have agreed to “cover five months” of Tel’s salary, totalling around “€2 million gross.”
This brings the total potential cost of the five month loan to €12 million (£10 million) – double what United had already refused to pay.
🚨⚪️ FC Bayern will receive a loan fee of €10 million for Mathys #Tel. As first via @cfbayern and confirmed.
In addition, Tottenham will cover five months of his salary, amounting to around €2 million gross.
For the summer, #COYS have secured an option to buy of around… pic.twitter.com/Am05v3Riyh
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) February 4, 2025
Tweet: “FC Bayern will receive a loan fee of €10 million for Mathys #Tel. As first via @cfbayern and confirmed. In addition, Tottenham will cover five months of his salary, amounting to around €2 million gross.
For the summer, #COYS have secured an option to buy of around €55m, which can rise to €60m with bonus payments. However: Tel has made sure that he will have a decisive say in whether Tottenham exercise the purchase option.
There is no mandatory buy clause, as Bayern had initially preferred – this was also at Tel’s request.”
A buy option of €55 million (potentially rising to €60) has been included in the deal, meaning the overall price to sign Tel could reach just under £60 million when the various fees are included – far surpassing the £50 million permanent transfer Spurs had originally agreed with Bayern.
Undoubtedly, United were in desperate need of attacking reinforcements in the winter window.
But given this particular option included such an unfavourable selection of conditions to sign a relatively experienced (albeit highly-rated) 19-year-old attacker who is best deployed on the left-wing, it is understandable why the club chose to withdraw from talks to sign Tel.
It remains to be seen whether this will prove a wise decision in the long-run, however.
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
