Arsenal handed bitter blow - 48 hours before Newcastle United Carabao Cup clash
Tottenham Hotspur have won the race to sign Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel in a blow to bitter rivals Arsenal.
Spurs agreed a £50million deal with the Bundesliga outfit last week but talks broke down when Tel turned down a move after holding face-to-face talks with Daniel Levy.
Manchester United and Arsenal have since held talks over signing the Frenchman but in a major U-turn, Spurs have trumped their rivals at the second attempt.
Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg posted on X: “Incredible twist. Mathys #Tel will undergo his medical with Tottenham today. It is expected to be a loan without an option to buy. Final details pending.
“He’s on his way to London. … but Tel now on the verge of joining @SpursOfficial as exclusively revealed.”
Having lost Gabriel Jesus to a long-term knee injury and Bukayo Saka still sidelined, Gunners manager Mike Arteta is hoping to add an attacking reinforcement to his squad before tonight’s 11pm transfer deadline - but time is running out.
Arsenal had a bid rejected by Aston Villa for Ollie Watkins last week, while they have also been linked with Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic. If a player were to be signed before the deadline then they would be eligible for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg clash against Newcastle United.
It’s advantage Newcastle, with Eddie Howe’s side leading 2-0 from their first-leg win at the Emirates. However, there is an air of nervousness in the Geordie fanbase after watching their team lose back-to-back home matches against AFC Bournemouth and Fulham.
The Gunners, meanwhile, are growing in confidence after thrashing Premier League champions Manchester City 5-1 on Sunday evening.
Newcastle United transfer latest
Newcastle’s squad will be a body lighter when they host Arsenal.
Lloyd Kelly flew to Turin on Sunday and is putting the finishing touches to his loan move to Juventus, which includes a £20million obligation to buy in the summer.
The 26-year-old came on as a late substitute in the 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Saturday but has made just four Premier League starts since arriving on a free transfer from AFC Bournemouth last summer.