Curious Case of Mathys Tel at Bayern Munich | OneFootball

Back in the summer of 2022 Bayern Munich bought the then 17-year-old Mathys Tel from Ligue 1 side Rennes for a fee of €28.5 million, including bonuses. Tel made his professional debut with the French club, at the tender age of just 16 years and 110 days, in August 2021 and became the youngest player to appear in an official match for the club’s senior team.  Having already distinguished himself as a prolific goalscorer at under-17 and under-18 levels with the French national team, despite being a raw and still relatively inexperienced talent, the Bayern chiefs believed that Tel was good value for money in the long term.

Following a decent 2022/23 debut season in the Bundesliga with Bayern, Tel then experienced a breakout season in 2023/24 when he scored 14 goals in all competitions. Despite Bayern’s failure to win any trophies for the first time in over a decade, he also established the reputation as somewhat of a super sub in the process. The Bayern bosses were so impressed by Tel’s performance last season that they moved swiftly to tie him down to a new long-term contract until June 2029. Manchester United were reportedly interested in signing the French forward.

Jumping forward to the ongoing 2024/25 season, the now 19-year-old attacker has somehow failed to build on what he achieved last season and unfortunately has regressed. During the recently completed Hindrunde, Tel struggled for form and was used sparingly by Vincent Kompany. In 12 appearances for Die Roten across all competitions this season, Tel has failed to get his name on the scoresheet. Let us now try to examine the struggles that the player has endured this season and also try to identify how those struggles may be overcome during the upcoming Ruckrunde.

Is Kompany's system suitable to get the best out of Tel?

There is no doubting the commitment of Mathys Tel to Bayern Munich. Despite interest from other clubs, Tel has made it quite clear that his desire is to remain at Bayern as an understudy to Harry Kane and eventually make a breakthrough in the starting XI.

However, when one considers the style of play that Kompany has implemented for the team and the lack of similarity between Harry Kane and Mathys Tel in terms of strengths and weaknesses there is genuine reason to question whether or not Tel embodies the type of striker that would succeed in the current setup.

Kane is a prototype number nine that functions superbly as a target man. He is also proficient in playing with his back to the goal and bringing others into the attack or releasing them for direct attempts on the goal themselves.

On the other hand, Tel, though quicker than Kane, lacks the physicality, strength, and passing accuracy of the England Captain. As such, he is not that well suited to the role of target man in a possession-based style of play. Tel, with his pace and dribbling ability, actually bears more similarity to his countryman, the French Captain- Kylian Mbappe. The early struggles that Mbappé has endured at Real Madrid, though not as extreme, bear similarities to those which, so far this season, have been insurmountable for Tel.

Taking all things into consideration, a more suitable role as a lone center-forward at Bayern for Tel would possibly be in a 4-3-3 formation with more vertical passing so that he could use his pace and dribbling to greater effect facing the opposition’s goal. Apart from that, playing as a second striker is also an option, but as things currently stand, such an opportunity is unlikely unless Bayern is actually chasing the game. If the young French attacker is to have a successful future in Bavaria, then another worthwhile alternative could be to convert him into a full-time left-winger.

One thing which is for certain is that Mathys Tel needs increased playing time over the course of the upcoming Ruckrunde. Regardless of what is in store for the young Frenchman during the second half of the season, next summer a firm decision will have to be made with regard to the mutual benefit of both the player and the club. With the Bayern chiefs reportedly on the lookout for both a backup striker and a new left winger, ahead of next season, then a parting of ways between Tel and Bayern is not beyond the realms of possibility during 2025.