There was a period when Thierry Henry was always the first person to be mentioned when a young French forward made a breakthrough. Especially if they preferred to cut in from the left. 

Currently, meanwhile, those from across the Channel are more often referred to as the “next Kylian Mbappe” than as the “second coming of Henry. Mathys Tel acquired the nickname after spending around £20 million to move from Rennes to Bayern Munich before turning eighteen. He has partially lived up to the title by scoring a few spectacular right-footed goals for the German powerhouse. 

When Tel, then 17 years old, arrived to the Allianz Arena in 2022, Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann said of him, “He’s a very young, talented player who can play different positions.” 

“He moves his body with strength and agility. He is skilled at keeping the ball in defence while facing the opponent’s goal. 

“I see a future in which he could score forty goals (in a single season).” 

Mathys Tel is moved by Manchester United

Tel, who is still only 18 years old, is a long way from producing the kind of stats that Mbappe consistently puts up for Paris Saint-Germain these days.

While Manchester United is reportedly stepping up their pursuit of an electrifying forward they looked at last summer, Bayern is already fighting to hang on to the France under-21 international. As a result, the so-called “next Mbappe” may have to endure his own summer of speculation while the real thing sees his Paris Saint-Germain deal run down. 

Florian Plettenberg, a reporter for Sky Germany, writes on X, “Man United have intensively analysed (Mathys Tel) in the past few weeks.” “The club has reached out to his management to discuss the possibility of a summer transfer.

Joshua Zirkzee of Bologna is still a target for Manchester United, though that interest has waned over time. Now that Tel is in the spotlight. 

Is this Bayern starlet truly “Kylian Mbappe’s next”?

Tel has made 17 appearances in the Bundesliga this season, all coming off the bench, but despite this, he still has six goals overall. He is typically a fantastic substitute. As you may remember, one of those occurred in September against Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United team.

Tel, with Bayern leading 3-2, blasted into the box with an explosive burst of acceleration evoking memories of Mbappe’s Monaco days before hammering the ball into Andre Onana’s net. 

It is evident that he desires to score goals. That’s a terrific quality, says Bayern legend Thomas Muller, equating Tel with another wide player who defined a generation. 

“We used to think that Arjen Robben should have been looking for the pass when he was playing, but he was so focused on scoring,” the player recalled. And he had a big score.

“Mathys ought to continue doing what he does best, which is taking shots at goal. He’s an excellent finisher.