Since Diego Costa’s departure in 2017, Chelsea are yet to sign a bona fide world-class striker.
Chelsea are unhappy with Nicolas Jackson’s performances, who continues to split opinion.
While the former Villareal forward’s hold-up and link-up play as well as his technical quality is undeniably brilliant, his finishing leaves a lot to be desired.
Tim Sherwood deemed Jackson “unpredictable” and there is perhaps no better word to sum the Senegalese international who has had a mixed bag of a season.
In recent weeks, Chelsea have strongly been linked with a move for Mathys Tel, with Christopher Nkunku, who Manchester United are interested in possibly heading the other way.
TBR Football exclusively revealed that Tel was open to a move to Chelsea but he had doubts over how many minutes he would get and his dream scenario was to simply stay at Bayern Munich.
Bayern have benched Tel, with the 19-year-old not even playing a single minute in his last three outings and this season as a whole, he has started three games for Vincent Kompany’s side in all competitions.
| COMPETITION | STARTS |
| BUNDESLIGA | 2 |
| DFB-POKAL | 0 |
| CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | 1 |
How Chelsea are likelier than ever to sign Mathys Tel
Fabrizio Romano has revealed how Chelsea are likelier than ever to sign the Frenchman.
Tel, who was labelled “outstanding” by Harry Kane was initially fully keen on staying at Bayern but after consistently being on the bench, Romano has claimed that he is now looking to understand this week whether it is time for him to leave.
Fabrizio Romano said on his YouTube channel: “He spoke to Vincent Kompany, very good conversation, ‘I want to succeed with Bayern’, so the message from Mathys Tel and his camp was very clear. Now, I can tell you that my feeling, even in the last 24 hours is that the situation has changed.”
“Last three games, Champions League and Bundesliga, he played zero minutes. So, Mathys Tel, this week is going to try to understand what’s going to happen because at the moment, there is still a chance for Mathys Tel to leave Bayern.”
“Loan proposals, they are more than 10, so clubs all over Europe are interested in him on loan, in Germany, in Italy and then, there is the opportunity to go to Chelsea for a permanent transfer.”
The youngster has attracted interest from other Premier League clubs in the past as well, with Nottingham Forest enquiring about Tel to sign him on loan this January.
Tel rejected Nottingham Forest, who sit in third place in the league and have a four-point gap over Chelsea.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 54 | 21 | 33 | 53 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 23 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 44 | 21 | 23 | 47 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 27 | 6 | 44 |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 23 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 47 | 30 | 17 | 41 |
| 5 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 23 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 41 |
| 6 |  ChelseaChelsea | 23 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 45 | 30 | 15 | 40 |
Thierry Henry said Chelsea target Mathys Tel is “extraordinary”
Back in September 2023, Thierry Henry sang Tel’s praises.
The French U-21 boss said via beIN SPORTS Philippines: “He’s a player who pushes the hierarchy at a club like Bayern Munich.”
“We’ll continue to follow him, if he continues like this, it’s going to be difficult not to call him but there are players up front too. Up front is not easy in this team. You have to respect that a little and not rush things too much even though I know some who do. You have to be patient but he’s a truly extraordinary player.”
Thierry Henry claimed Tel is a top character as well.
“Once again, we called him and we had a chat and it was a good one. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. It’s a strange thing to say but he’s a good thing to say but he is. He is a good kid and I saw that he really understood what he was doing this weekend.”
“So, he’s causing problems, we’ll see about the next call-up.”
Manchester United were interested in Tel in the summer of 2024. Arsenal were also keen on Tel’s signature, which goes to show how gifted he is.
Chelsea will be hoping that the Bayern wonderkid leaves Germany in favour of a move to Stamford Bridge, with important league games to come against West Ham, Brighton, Aston Villa, Southampton and Leicester.
