Bundesliga
From central defence through midfield and across the attacking line, French prodigy Mathys Tel has the uncanny ability to excel no matter where you play him. bundesliga.com has the scoop on the Bayern Munich teenager, currently on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, who has been compared favourably with Kylian Mbappé.
Stats correct as of 4 February 2025
Age: 19 (born 27 April 2005)
Club: Bayern Munich (on loan at Tottenham Hotspur)
Position: Forward
Country: France (eight caps/three goals for the U21s)
Key Stats
From Sarcelles in the Paris suburbs, Tel played as a youngster for local clubs Villiers Le Bel, Paris FC, ASJ Aubervilliers and Montrouge FC as well as spending time at the famous Clairefontaine academy. A move west to Brittany then followed, and in 2020, at the age of 15, he signed for Rennes, a club renowned for its youth academy that had already produced the likes of Eduardo Camavinga and Ousmane Dembélé. His progress from there was rapid. In August 2021, Tel became the youngest player ever to turn out for Rennes when he came on for the final five minutes of their 1-1 draw at Brest. The 6'0" forward was just 16 years, three months and 19 days old when he made his competitive debut, and in total the teenager featured 10 times off the bench across all competitions in the 2021/22 campaign.
Watch: The best of Mathys Tel at Bayern in the Bundesliga
Tel is already a high achiever at international level too. He has played for the France U21 team but in summer 2022 he led the France U17 side to victory at the European Championship in Israel. The now-Bayern man got three goals and an assist in the group stage before scoring in penalty shootout wins over Germany and Portugal. He lifted the trophy as captain following a 2-1 success against the Netherlands in the final on 1 June.
On 31 August 2022, Tel became Bayern's youngest-ever goalscorer when - at 17 years and 126 days old - he netted in his side's 5-0 DFB Cup triumph against Viktoria Cologne, beating the club's previous record holder, Jamal Musiala (17 years, 205 days). He followed that by making his full Bundesliga debut against VfB Stuttgart on 10 September, marking the occasion with his maiden top-flight goal.
The Frenchman started 2023/24 with five strikes in the first eight games of the season and, having earned the confidence of coach Thomas Tuchel, ended the season with seven goals and five assists in 30 Bundesliga appearances. What's more, he notched an impressive two goals - both match-winners, against Manchester United and Copenhagen - and one assist in eight UEFA Champions League matches.
This excellent campaign prompted the Bavarian giants to extend the young Frenchman's contract through to 2029 as early as March 2024, but a change of coach - and the arrival of Tel's compatriot Michael Olise into Bayern's attacking fold - have seen the Parisian limited to just eight Bundesliga appearances (two starts) so far in season 2024/25. As such, he has gone out on loan to Tottenham for the remainder of the campaign.
Plays a bit like: Kylian Mbappé
Any particularly good young French attacking talent is bound to be compared to Mbappé, but Tel justifiably falls into that bracket. He is similar both in terms of his career path - as an exciting youngster who everyone was talking about before they turned 17 - and in style. Quick and a good dribbler, Tel admitted when he signed his first pro contract that he still needed to work out which position suits him best. That's something many of his coaches have pondered too, but one of Tel's key strengths is his ability to adapt to any role.
He was thrown on to the wing in a 4-3-3 system for his debut, a position Mbappé has excelled in for club and country. Part of the sizeable French contingent at Bayern, Tel has played across the front line and in central midfield over the years, and - like Mbappé - he has shown he is capable of thriving in a more central role too. The teenager notably featured as the centre-forward in a 4-3-3 formation during France's triumphant European U17 Championship campaign.
Did you know?
Although he is clearly an accomplished forward with oodles of pace, dazzling ball skills and a knack for curling spectacular strikes with his cultured right boot, Tel actually started his footballing career as a centre-back. His confidence both with and without the ball, as well as his ability to read the game, made him an excellent stopper, but as his physique and skills developed, it became clear that his considerable gifts could be better used much closer to goal.
What they're saying
"You can see that he wants to score goals - that's a great quality. Thinking back to when Arjen Robben was playing, we used to think he should have been looking for the pass, but he was so focused on scoring and he scored a lot. Mathys should keep doing his thing: firing shots in on goal. He's a superb finisher." - Bayern teammate Thomas Müller
"Mathys is doing an outstanding job and that's why he keeps getting his chance at Bayern Munich. He's a young player for the future and he just has to keep going." - Bayern boss Vincent Kompany
"He's only 18 and is making the most of it at the moment. He's always positive, always has a smile on his face and has great finishing in training and in matches." - former Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel
"He's an important foundation for the future of this team. With him, we already have the next Bayern generation in our squad. Mathys arrived in Munich as a young player and, at the age of 18, has already gained a lot of important experience at the top level. He will lay down many markers, here at Bayern." - Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl
"He's a very young, talented player who can play different positions… he's very quick, strong with his body. He's good at defending the ball with his back towards the opponent's goal… I have the vision that he could score 40 goals [in a season like Robert Lewandowski] one day in the future." - former Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann on the club's plans to mould Tel into a world-class forward