Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Transfers
Fabrizio Romano tells the ‘crazy’ story of how Tottenham were able to sign Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich
Tottenham Hotspur managed to pull off the signing of Mathys Tel on deadline day.
The saga involving the Bayern Munich striker made a lot of headlines in the final few days of the window. He was arguably the most talked-about name in England in the final week.
A move to Tottenham was initially rejected by Tel. The youngster then held talks with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, but no agreement was reached there either.
Then, in what was a dramatic U-turn, Tel agreed to join Tottenham, and the move was made official late on deadline day on Monday.
Fabrizio Romano explains the details of ‘crazy’ Mathys Tel to Tottenham transfer
At the start of the transfer window, Tel was expected to stay at Bayern Munich.
The Frenchman was behind Harry Kane in the pecking order in Germany, but it was believed at the time that he would stay and fight for his place.
However, in the final days of the window, Tel changed his mind, and Tottenham showed more interest than any other club.
Spurs managed to seal the deal for Tel, and in what was a surprise to many, they secured an option to buy clause in the agreement too.
Romano has now revealed that Daniel Levy is the one who pushed for that clause while Tel was undergoing his medical in London.
Tottenham can sign him permanently now, but Tel will still have a say in the summer – if he doesn’t want to stay, Spurs will not be able to exercise their option to buy him.
Romano said in a video on his YouTube channel: “After the player arrived in England, in London, to have his medical, to prepare all the documents, Tottenham were insisting, especially the chairman Daniel Levy, to have the possibility – in direct contact with the CEO of Bayern, Dreesen – to have the green light on a buy option clause for Mathys Tel.
“So imagine how crazy is this story. Tottenham last week agreed a permanent transfer – loan with obligation, so like a permanent transfer, €60 million – the player said no. Then what happened? Today (Monday) they agree on a straight loan, no buy option, the player travels to London and during the medical, when he was ready to sign the contracts, Tottenham wanted to include an option to buy. Bayern said yes, has to be £60 million add-ons included – so formally it is £55 million plus £5 million. The player also accepted this solution.
“But, at the end of the season, in order for Tottenham to trigger the buy option if they want after these six months, it’s Mathys Tel who can say ‘yes, okay, let’s do it’ or maybe ‘no, sorry, I want to go back to Bayern’.
“So, the player will have a say in this buy option clause, but it’s still a buy option clause.”
Two people convinced Tel to join Tottenham
At the start of transfer deadline day on Monday, it looked like Tottenham didn’t stand a chance in the race to sign Tel.
The three options reported were a move to Arsenal, a move to Manchester United or staying at Bayern Munich until the end of the season.
But, Spurs did not accept defeat, and after Arsenal and Manchester United pulled out of the race, Tottenham pounced and got the deal done thanks to two people.
The first is, of course, Ange Postecoglou, who called Tel and convinced him to move to Tottenham.
The other person is Spurs legend Kane – he persuaded Tel to sign for Tottenham after the youngster spoke to him about a move to North London.