Tottenham Hotspur have beaten the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United to sign Bayern Munich's highly rated young forward Mathys Tel on loan with, unexpectedly, an option to buy.
It became clear that Tel was keen to leave Bayern towards the end of January as he sought more playing time. The 19-year-old has started just four games across all competitions this season while making a further ten appearances off the bench.
Chelsea were actively pursuing the French prodigy, who mustered ten goals last season despite being afforded limited minutes, but were rebuffed. Spurs were also seemingly rejected after agreeing a 60m (�50m) fee with Bayern only for Tel and his representatives to turn down a permanent move.
However, the two parties came to a surprise resolution on Monday night, with Tel spurning advances from Arsenal, Aston Villa and United to sign a six-month loan deal with Tottenham.
Despite initially thought to be a straight loan, Spurs reportedly have secured the option to buy Tel come the summer for a fee between 55m-60m (�45m-�50m).
The decisive factor behind Tel's U-turn was a lengthy conversation with Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, according to ESPN's Julien Laurens. The Spurs manager has openly called for a winter reinforcements to support his injury-ravaged squad.
Centre-back Kevin Danso arrived on loan from Lens on Sunday and, together with Tel, could make his Tottenham debut in Thursday's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool.
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