Manchester United are already 24 matches into the new season, but they are yet to wake from their pre-season slumber. The Red Devils are currently in sixth place in the Premier League, yet they have been dumped out of the EFL Cup and the Champions League already.
Erik ten Hag’s side lacks a clear identity, and that was on display against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford this week, with the hosts losing 1-0 in a must-win match.
We witnessed that Ten Hag had very few attacking options on the bench to change the game, therefore, he will look for a versatile forward this window to bolster his squad.
Man Utd transfers latest – Mathys Tel
As per Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg via X, Man Utd have inquired about loaning the French attacker, who is worth £26m as per CIES Football Observatory, in an attempt to bolster their attack.
However, both Bayern and Mathys Tel have declined any approaches for the time being, and a move is extremely unlikely.
The reason for this is that the youngster aims to develop his game by learning from the very best, Harry Kane, and he believes he will continue to get more minutes under Thomas Tuchel.
Kane is a notable admirer of the young talent, previously saying: "He’s started the season really well. I like the way he trains. He’s always pushing himself and is fully committed. Every time he came in he made a difference and is very confident."
How Mathys Tel compares to Antony
Tel has previously been described as a “pure talent” by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig, and the forward has notably been influential off the bench for Bayern this campaign, contributing to a handful of important late goals already.
Despite only starting four games across all 19 appearances, the 18-year-old has scored six goals and registered three assists, with five of those coming from zero Bundesliga starts.
The Bayern attacker is also extremely versatile, which means he can be counted on in multiple scenarios. He has played as a centre-forward, a left winger, and a right winger this season, with the latter being particularly important to Manchester United.
Indeed, Red Devils winger Antony has failed to live up to his high expectations since joining the club, and after 16 matches this season, he is without a single goal contribution. It is clear that the duo’s profiles differ, with Tel possessing more pace, natural goal-scoring tendencies, and directness.
Below is a table that compares some of their most important stats from the last 365 days across Europe's top five leagues.
Goals
1.06
0.11
Shots total
4.83
3.21
Successful take-ons
3.93
1.71
Touches (Att pen)
10.57
4.06
Carries into penalty area
2.87
1.46
Although his sample size is much smaller, you can see that Tel is far more direct than the Brazilian, using his taller frame and skilful technique to take on opponents and make things happen in a similar way to how Alejandro Garnacho performs on the left. The Frenchman is also a more “exciting” attacker who has a bright future, according to Jacek Kulig.
Antony is also often found on the touchline, which is perfect from a build-up, possessional perspective, but he is rarely found in the box, with his touches in the opponent’s penalty area much lower than Tel’s.
The difference is that in a scenario where the ball is on the left in attack, Antony would look to hold the width, whereas the Bayern star would be looking to get in the box at the far post, in a similar way to how Sadio Mane used to operate at Liverpool.
Overall, Tel would bring more output to the United side than Antony currently does, but there seems to be no movement whatsoever regarding this deal, which means Manchester United may have to turn their attention elsewhere.
