Manchester United are considering hijacking Chelsea’s deal for Mathys Tel after the French forward ‘decided to leave’ Bayern Munich.
Tel, 19, is pushing for a move away from Bundesliga giants Bayern in the final week of the January transfer window.
Bayern Munich signed the highly-rated forward from Rennes in 2022 in a deal worth £20m.
Tel featured regularly for Bayern during his first two seasons at the club but has fallen out of favour this term, starting just two league games.
A lack of minutes has led Tel to grow frustrated at Bayern Munich and, according to Fabrizio Romano, he now plans to leave before the winter window shuts next week.
Tel’s decision will be welcome news for Chelsea, who have been linked with a move for the France U21 star throughout January.
Chelsea held talks with Bayern at the start of the transfer window and reportedly reopened discussions with the German side earlier this week.
The Blues have shown a willingness to bolster Enzo Maresca’s attacking options this month despite the wealth of attacking players already in the Stamford Bridge squad.
At least one current Chelsea forward could be on the move, however, with Joao Felix the subject of interest from Aston Villa and Christopher Nkunku heavily linked with a January switch.
Tel, who has scored 16 goals in 82 appearances for Bayern Munich, could be seen as a ideal replacement for Felix or Nkunku but Chelsea face may yet face competition from Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg claims United are considering a late move for Tel as they brace themselves for potential exits at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford will leave if a suitable opportunity presents itself while the Red Devils are also considering a controversial sale of fellow academy graduate Alejandro Garnacho.
Rashford has been linked with several domestic and foreign clubs – including La Liga giants Barcelona – while Garnacho is said to be a target for Chelsea.
European Championship U17 winner Tel was strongly linked with a move to Manchester United this time last year but ended up staying in Munich.
Discussing the speculation surrounding Tel earlier this month, Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said: ‘He is a very important player for us.
‘He’s a great talent and should play an important role for us. Our clear goal is for Mathys to make his breakthrough with us.’
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