Manchester United ultimately “ended their interest” in Mathys Tel after being told by Bayern Munich to pay a £5m loan fee.
The Red Devils were not given the option to buy the France Under 21 international during talks and ESPN claim that the club felt that they were being used by Bayern to get the young player more game time.
Tel ultimately left the Bundesliga giants for Tottenham, with Spurs having also beaten the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea to the forward’s signature
The 19-year-old’s move to North London came after a U-turn from the player who originally rejected a permanent switch to the club.
United could have secured an option to buy
What makes the Manchester club’s decision to pull out all the more strange is the fact that Tottenham did ultimately secure a purchase option in their agreement with Bayern.
They can now buy Tel at the end of the season for £45m. United fans will be questioning why their team weren’t able to reach a similar deal for the winger.
Amorim has been left short of numbers
United’s bungled deadline day negotiations have effectively harmed the prospects of head coach Ruben Amorim finishing the season strongly.
The Portuguese coach will be lamenting the fact that Marcus Rashford was loaned out to Aston Villa without a replacement being brought in.
Tel would have been a perfect addition for Amorim’s front three. He is an inside forward who likes to play off the left flank. As it is, the Red Devils’ squad is now weaker than it was at the start of January.
Not many fans currently have faith that INEOS will right the wrongs when it comes to giving Amorim the resources he needs in the next transfer window.
Find out who is in Manchester United’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here