Chelsea suffer Mathys Tel blow as Bayern Munich sporting director sends 'clear' message | OneFootball

Chelsea have enquired over the availability of the 19-year-old

Chelsea’s hopes of signing Mathys Tel this month have been dealt a blow, with Bayern Munich stressing that their “clear plan” is for the teenager to “make his breakthrough” in Germany.

Tel was one of the most highly-rated young talents in Europe when joining the German giants in a €28.5million switch from Rennes two summers ago but after an encouraging season last year, his development has stalled.

The 19-year-old has played little more than 200 minutes in the Bundesliga this term and failed to score in a dozen appearances across competitions.

However, speaking on Tuesday, Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund insisted Tel has a big future at the club.

“Mathys Tel is a very important player for us,” Freund said. “We are in very good contact because he’s a great talent and should play an important role for us. We have had many discussions.

“Our clear goal is for Mathys to make his breakthrough with us. We are very happy with our squad, quality and quantity wise.

“Of course if a player is unhappy, we can talk about it. Our clear plan with Mathys is for him to make his breakthrough here.”

Bayern are interested in signing Nkunku this month, with the French forward frustrated at his lack of playing time this season.

Nkunku is the Blues’s joint-top-scorer across competitions with 13 goals, but has made only three league starts, two of which came against newly-promoted sides.

Nicolas Jackson remains Enzo Maresca’s first-choice No9 and it is thought the club would entertain a significant offer for Nkunku.