Chelsea have held ‘initial talks’ with Bayern Munich over a move for Mathys Tel, with a number of players ‘discussed’ in a possible swap deal.
The Blues have been uncharacteristically quiet in the January transfer window, with more rumours of outgoings than incomings so far.
Renato Veiga has reportedly agreed to join Borussia Dortmund for around £12m despite only arriving at Chelsea from FC Basel for the same fee in the summer.
The Bundesliga side are also keen on signing Carney Chukwuemeka, who’s also drawing interest from Crystal Palace and Serie A sides this month.
Chelsea are also trying to find a buyer for Ben Chilwell without much luck, while there’s also doubt over the future of Christopher Nkunku, who moved to Chelsea from RB Leipzig for £52m in the summer of 2023 and could be used in negotiations with Bayern over a move for Tel.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed on Monday that Tel is on Chelsea’s radar this month.
He wrote on X: ‘EXCL: Chelsea held talks about Mathys Tel with Bayern in the recent days, early stages of contacts to be informed on his situation. Tel spoke to Kompany 10 days ago as he wants to succeed at Bayern; while Chelsea asked for info on Mathys during talks with the German club.’
Tel looked set to achieve great things this season having broken into the first team last term with ten goals and six assists.
Despite playing much of his football before his £20m from Rennes as a centre-forward, he played predominantly on the left wing last season on the left wing as the formidable figure of Harry Kane was blocking his path to the No.9 role.
Michael Olise’s arrival has pushed him further down the winger pecking order and he’s featured for just 351 minutes under Vincent Kompany.
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Later on Monday, Romano added: ‘More on Mathys Tel and Chelsea story. Bayern and Chelsea held initial talks about possible swap deal, with players being discussed. Bayern asked for Christopher Nkunku situation at Chelsea, as BILD reported. Nothing advanced/close yet but initial talks took place.’
Nkunku is said to be frustrated by his lack of opportunity under Enzo Maresca, who has preferred Nicolas Jackson in the central striker role in the Premier League this season, with France international Nkunku having to settle for appearances from the bench as well as starts in cup competitions.
It’s not clear whether Chelsea would settle for a straight swap with Nkunku valued at €50m and Tel at just €30m.
The transfer expert also confirmed that centre-back Axel Disasi could be on his way out of the club amid interest from Juventus.
Romano wrote on X: ‘Understand Axel Disasi’s expected to be left out of Chelsea squad tomorrow as he can leave in January. There are already important clubs in talks to explore January move and Chelsea are open to this solution following discussion with the player.’
