At one point, Mathys Tel looked like he was destined to be a part of Bayern Munich’s future.
A dynamic attacker back in the 2023/24, Tel was thought to have the ability to shift out to wing and bring a goalscoring threat to that position. After all, he did register 10 goals and six assists during that initial campaign in Bavaria.
That, however, did not work out as planned.
Even with the support of Vincent Kompany, Tel had trouble functioning as a wing and struggled as a striker as well. Quickly, it was
determined that the Frenchman needed a change of scenery, so a loan to Tottenham Hotspur and eventually a full transfer seemed to represent the chance for a reboot.
That also is not working — and Tel might have the lost the trust of head coach (for now) Thomas Frank, who excluded the 20-year-old from his latest Champions League squad, which has angered is camp per Fabrizio Romano:
🚨⚠️ Tottenham manager Thomas Frank excludes again Mathys Tel from Champions League squad list.
Frank makes space for Dominic Solanke and the only way was to remove Tel.
❗️ The French striker and his camp, not happy at all with the decision.
With Tel unhappy, Paris FC is seeking to attempt to bring him back to France on a full transfer per Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg:
🚨👀 Mathys #Tel remain the absolute dream transfer target for Paris FC until Deadline Day. Tel still wants to leave Tottenham, as revealed.
Edin Dzeko is also on the list, but Tel is internally ranked as the clear number one priority.
@kerry_hau @SkySportDE
It seems — once again — that Tel needs to change things up in hopes of rediscovering that ability that made him such an intriguing prospect not all that long ago.
The positives for Tel include that he is still just 20-years-old and that he has proven that — when right — he can score in a top league.
However, Tel still does not seem to have a true position. Playing as a wing, just does not seem to be within his skillset, while Tel has also not yet shown he can produce as a solo striker on a consistent basis. In truth, he is probably best used as a left striker in a formation that include two strikers. This little nugget seems to limit the opportunities for Tel.
Most fans likely hope that Tel will be able to turn things around and reach the potential that so many once saw in him. The bottom line on Tel’s tenure in Bavaria, though, is that Bayern Munich got out at the right time for everyone. The Frenchman’s progress was stunted at Bayern Munich and his exit helped pave the way for roster openings for players like Luis Díaz and Lennart Karl.
All in all, this was how it needed to be for both Tel and Bayern Munich. From here, it is up to him to prove he can be as good as he thinks he is and some fans think he is as well.
Song of the Midweek: “Kiss Them for Me” by Siouxsie and The Banshees
Today, we’re venturing back into the 90s…1991 to be specific.
This one was right before grunge took over and was a staple for the burgeoning alt rock genre and 120 minutes on MTV. Known mostly for their work that was considered “post punk” or “gothic rock” in the 80s, this one just always sounded good to me…and still does. Enjoy:
Entertainment Rundown
We will breakdown HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on Friday. Spoiler Alert: It was not a great opening.
Stranger Things
Stranger Things mega-fans need to let it go.
The ending — which was perfectly fine — is being crushed, which is okay (everyone has their own opinions). Clearly, it was not going to please everyone. However, the ridiculous demands that one character needed to hook up with another or that some inane plot-point like needing to know what happened to the long-hair, stoner pizza delivery guy from California needs to be addressed…just stop and grow up.
The latest “controversy” stemmed from Finn Wolfhard (Mike)’s stint as host of Saturday Night Live appeared in a skit with Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) where they lampooned potential Stranger Things spinoffs with a look into the future. And people got wildly upset about this? Seriously. Here is the segment, which has the weirdos riled up:
The ending might not have satisfied your individual needs, but it is time to move on.
Predictions
Can anyone stop Bayern Munich’s attack right now?
Some will point to Arsenal and…they would have a point. The inclusion of Luis Díaz, though, might change things against the Gunners, but that is a discussion for another time. In this match, Bayern Munich is just going to be too strong for the the visitors, who are no slouch, but not ready for what they are about to face.
Before anyone takes this score as disrespectful, it is far more about the power of the Bavarians than the weakness of their Belgian counterparts.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 4-0 Union St.-Gilloise
Other Champions League predictions include:
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Kairat Almaty 1-1 Club Brugge
Bodo/Glimt 0-4 Manchester City
FC Copenhagen 1-2 Napoli
Inter Milan 2-2 Arsenal
Olympiacos 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Real Madrid 3-0 AS Monaco
Sporting CP 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain
Tottenham Hotspur 2-3 Borussia Dortmund
Villarreal 2-1 Ajax
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
FK Qarabag 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Galatasaray 1-2 Atlético Madrid
Atalanta 1-1 Athletic Club
Chelsea 4-0 Pafos
Juventus 2-1 Benfica
Marseille 1-2 Liverpool
Newcastle United 3-1 PSV Eindhoven
Slavia Prague 0-4 FC Barcelona
Prediction Results
This is where we stand at the break…
- Total: 345-188
- Perfect Picks: 33
- Bundesliga Last Matchday: 4-5
- Bundesliga Overall: 93-66 (missing four postponed games)
- DFB-Pokal: 45-11
- World Cup Qualifiers/Friendlies: 99-45
- Champions League: 65-43
- Club World Cup: 39-23
- Club Friendlies: 4-0
- Franz Beckenbauer Supercup: 1-0
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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