Arsenal Planning £60M Summer Swoop For Top Striker Target If Tel Arrives On Loan

Arsenal will delay their plans to sign an out-and-out No.9 until the summer transfer window if they do secure the services of Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel, according to reports.

The Gunners had tabled a £60m offer for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins but The Guardian now believes that Mikel Arteta’s side have switched their attention back to Benjamin Sesko.


While the Slovenian international is not expected to be sold by RB Leipzig this month, Arsenal are likely to have better luck at the end of the season.

The Guardian report that Sesko’s contract includes an “agreement” that allows him to move for a fee in the region of £60m this summer.

A loan deal for Tel will add firepower that Arteta wants

The injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka have led to Arteta requesting for another forward to be recruited in January. With Sesko unavailable, an attempt was made for Watkins.

However, with Villa selling Jhon Duran to Al Nassr, there is little to no chance of the Midlands club offloading the England international too.

Signing Tel would provide temporary cover. The 19-year-old can play right across the front three.

Arsenal have competition from United

It is believed that Chelsea have withdrawn from the battle to sign Tel on loan, while the teenager has already snubbed a permanent move to Tottenham.

The Gunners’ main rival for the France Under 21 international is believed to be Manchester United. Both teams are in contact with the player’s agent but, at the time of writing, neither side has reached an agreement with Bayern Munich.

With the transfer window set to close at 11 PM GMT on Monday night, there isn’t much time left for negotiations to take place but it does seem to be a two-way fight for Tel’s signature.

Find out who is in Arsenal’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here

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David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.