Arsenal and Manchester United are now in the hunt for Bayern Munich’s young winger Mathys Tel, while Chelsea have withdrawn from the race, reports from Germany suggest.
Earlier this month, Chelsea made an inquiry about the 19-year-old, but Tel initially opted to stay at Bayern. However, his stance has shifted as he struggles for regular game time under Vincent Kompany.
Despite being available for 12 matches across all competitions this season, he has started only twice in the Bundesliga.
German outlet TZ reveals that Arsenal had shown interest in Tel even before his €28.5 million (£24.4m) transfer from Rennes in July 2022. Their interest remains strong as they look to strengthen Mikel Arteta’s attacking options before the January window closes.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are reportedly no longer a contender for Tel’s signature this month.
Despite his limited minutes, Bayern’s sporting director, Christoph Freund, has publicly backed Tel to succeed at the club.
“He’s a key player for us, and we’re in close contact because he has great potential and should play an important role,” Freund stated.
“We’ve had several discussions, and our clear objective is for Mathys to establish himself here. We’re satisfied with our squad in terms of both quality and depth. If a player is unhappy, we’re open to discussions, but our plan is for him to succeed at Bayern.”