Arsenal have emerged as the most likely destination for a highly-rated forward this winter window, following recent developments elsewhere in Europe.
Injury to Bukayo Saka has limited Arsenal's attacking output in 2025, with pundits and fans alike crying out for the club to sign a new forward. Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus aren't deemed good enough among sections of support, while the side is clearly lacking a prolific goalscorer.
They could be about to get their wish, with one European star highlighting their desire to move on in this transfer window.
Arsenal frontrunners in race for Mathys Tel
On Tuesday, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel had informed the German side of his desire to ideally leave in the next few days.
And now, according to German outlet TZ, Arsenal are ready to make a move for the young Frenchman, having retained an interest in Tel for a number of months now. Capable of playing on either wing and even as a centre-forward, Tel is seen as the perfect offensive reinforcement to give the Gunners a new lease of life in the second half of the season.
Despite extending his contract in March last year, keeping him at Bayern until the summer of 2029, the 19-year-old has struggled to make an impact on the first team in the intervening period. Manager Vincent Kompany has handed him just three starts and 10 substitute appearances in all competitions this term, with Tel having to settle for limited minutes as Harry Kane, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and Thomas Muller all play ahead of him.
But while Arsenal are in need of a new striker and Tel wants to leave Bayern, a deal is far from easy to conclude. The German giants would prefer to loan Tel, though are willing to let him leave if they receive the right offer, while there's plenty of interest from across Europe, too.
Chelsea have been interested in Tel for a while now, while his recent availability has put other clubs, like Tottenham, on red-alert. The report suggests that Chelsea are no longer interested, though that conflicts with Romano's suggestion that the Blues enquired over his availability earlier in the month.
In FourFourTwo's view, it's unlikely that Arsenal or Chelsea would permanently sign Tel this January, considering Bayern signed him as a 17-year-old for £24m a few years ago, and would want to recoup, or even make a profit, on the forward. A loan move certainly isn't out of the realms of possibility for the Gunners, but it seems most likely that he'd either stay at the Allianz Arena or get seek more regular first team minutes out in his home country.
