Harry Kane gives verdict on mooted Tottenham signing Mathys Tel as Levy presents tempting proposal

Rob McCarthy 31 Jan 2025 8:38 AM

Harry Kane has talked up Tel qualities

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp has revealed Harry Kane’s assessment of his Bayern Munich teammate Mathys Tel, as Tottenham appear to be closing in on a move for the talented young forward.

The 19-year-old put a host of top European clubs on red alert when he told Bayern that he would like to leave the club before the end of the January transfer window in the search for more game time.

Tel has only started four games in all competitions this season and has found regular minutes hard to come by in Vincent Kompany’s side, in part due to the goalscoring exploits of former Spurs captain Kane and impressive wide players like Leroy Sane, Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman.

However, it’s Kane old side Tottenham who could benefit from Tel’s desire to move, with reports suggesting that the north London club have agreed a €60million (£50.2m / $62m) deal to sign the France Under-21 international.

The versatile forward has also attracted interest from the likes of Manchester United, who are keen on a loan deal, and Chelsea, but has not made a final decision on which club he will join – if he does indeed decide to leave.

However, if Tel does choose to join Spurs then Kane believes his former club will have picked up a great talent, according to Redknapp.

“He’s a very talented player, that’s for sure,” Redknapp said when asked about Tel on Sky Sports News.

“19 years of age and Tottenham have obviously signed a lot of good young players in the last few years. That seems to be the profile of what they are trying to get.

“I messaged Harry Kane earlier on and he was very complimentary about him.

“First of all, he said he was a great guy; wants to work, good trainer, a good finisher and has a lot of potential.”

Redknapp, however, is worried about the size of the fee that Tottenham have reportedly agreed to pay for the player and questioned how often he will actually feature for Ange Postecoglou’s side – even with the club’s current injury crisis.

He added: “It’s a lot of money, 50 million, for a 19 year old. You can’t think of too many others players at that age that have cost much more.

“He can play across the line… but there’s still Son (Heung-Min), there’s still (Dejan) Kulusevski and (Dominic) Solanke when he is fit.

“So there’s probably not a guarantee that he’ll come in as a regular starter but trying to get in front of Harry Kane at Bayern Munich is not easy as we know.”

Romano reveals Tottenham sell to Tel

Tel, however, will likely provide some immediate respite and cover for Spurs’ squad which remains ravaged by injury, with attacking stars Solanke, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Timo Werner and Wilson Odobert all currently out.

Maddison became the latest forward player to hit the sidelines when he was ruled out for two to three weeks with a calf strain prior to the win over Elfsborg in the Europa League, having also missed out against former club Leicester last weekend.

Tel’s potential arrival would certainly be a welcome one and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has revealed how Tottenham are trying to sell the transfer to the player.

Writing on X, Romano said: “Tottenham have presented their project to Mathys Tel and his agent with game time as key factor. Spurs also had direct meeting with Bayern to guarantee €60m fee in case Tel decides to accept.

“Mathys needs some time to decide… with several clubs keen and in talks.”

Latest Tottenham news: Spurs move for familiar face / Southampton make Dibling stance

Tottenham are reportedly ready to offer a former player a route back to the club, in a move it’s believed he would welcome making.

Spurs have plainly had defensive struggles this season. In the Premier League, there are only five sides with worse defensive records than they have, although having the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie has certainly not helped.

That has left them light on reinforcements and TBRFootball reports that Tottenham are ready to offer their former right-back Kyle Walker-Peters a route back to north London.

Meanwhile, Southampton have made it clear to clubs that they will not sell the likes of Tyler Dibling or Cameron Archer halfway through the season, TEAMtalk can reveal.