5 hours ago
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Mathys Tel has informed Tottenham he is open to leaving on loan, having grown frustrated at his lack of game time under Thomas Frank since a £30m move from Bayern Munich.
Paris FC and the Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Galatasaray are understood to have registered interest in taking the 20-year-old forward on loan until the end of the season. Clubs in Italy and Spain are also believed to have sounded out Spurs, who are thought to be reluctant to let Tel leave after selling Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace for £35m.
Tel, who started Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday, wants regular playing time to boost his chances of making Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad, having recently been named as captain of France’s Under-21s. He has scored two goals in five Premier League starts this season and one in his nine league substitute appearances. Tel spent the second half of the previous campaign on loan at Spurs and was an unused substitute in the Europa League final.
Two days after Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou in June, Tottenham activated their option to make Tel’s move permanent. He is said to have been extremely surprised by the decision to leave him out of their Champions League squad in September. Tel was added in December in place of the injured striker Dominic Solanke.
Sources close to Tel have said there is no suggestion he would like to leave permanently and that he will keep working hard to earn a place in the side. However, having departed Bayern in search of more first-team action, he would like an opportunity to build some momentum in his career.
Spurs, who are poised to complete a £13m deal with Santos for the 19-year-old left-back Souza, are in the market for attacking reinforcements, with Mohammed Kudus due to be out until April with a thigh injury. They have been linked with RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande and Kenan Yildiz of Juventus.
Tottenham’s co-sporting director Fabio Paratici is in line to complete a move to Fiorentina once the January window has closed. The Italian has been working alongside Johan Lange since returning from a 30-month ban from football in October.
