Tottenham have wasted little time in confirming the permanent signing of Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich off the back of the Frenchman's six-month loan in north London.
Tel joined the club on a temporary basis at the end of the January transfer window with Spurs reportedly having the option to buy the 20-year-old outright for as much as â¬55m at the end of the season.
However, Spurs have been able to negotiate a much kinder price with the Bundesliga champions, with Tel reportedly joining the club in a â¬35m deal. The forward has signed a contract until 2031.
Mathys Tel could develop into Son Heung-min's successor
Tel offered glimpses of his sky-high potential during the second half of 2024/25 and we can only project that the best is yet to come of the French U21 international in N17. While it was Ange Postecoglou who helped bring him to the club in the winter, Tel has seemingly been left convinced by new manager Thomas Frank (and vice versa).
The incoming boss maximised the talents of several attackers during his lengthy Brentford tenure, and Tel is poised to benefit from the Dane's arrival. His roles under Ange were more rigid in terms of positioning, but Frank should allow the talented 20-year-old more freedom to roam from an inside forward position. At Brentford, Frank's forwards benefittedâmost notably last seasonâfrom the creation of high-quality scoring opportunities due to their ability to facilitate artificial transition sequences, and Tel possesses the necessary ball-striking to morph into a reliable Premier League marksman.
This may well be the summer when a club icon departs in Son Heung-min, with the Korean superstar showing signs of decline over the past 18 months. However, in Tel, Spurs may well have snagged the sharpshooter's successor for a bargain price.
It's time to usher in a new dawn with Frank at the helm, and Tel will be one of the project's cornerstones should he merely come within reach of his ceiling. Bayern Munich were utterly convinced by his talent, signing him for â¬28.5m as a 17-year-old in 2022, but the move ultimately arrived too soon for Tel, who struggled for rhythm and minutes amid fierce competition out wide.
Spurs is undeniably a more suitable home, despite his failure to set the world alight during his first 20 appearances. The absence of patience within the modern-day supporter means there are plenty who aren't convinced by Tel, believing this deal to merely be another example of Levy's penny-pinching when the likes of Eberechi Eze and Bryan Mbeumo are out there to be signed for big fees.
Hold that view if you wish, but it's one I cannot subscribe to. Sure, we were limited to mere moments from Tel during his loan, but he remains one of Europe's premier U21 attacking talents. For â¬35m, the deal was a no-brainer for Spurs, and I'm so excited to see him shine under Frank.