Mathys Tel became Bayern Munich’s youngest Bundesliga scorer with a goal against VfB Stuttgart aged 17 years and 136 days old.
Unfortunately, his opening goal after 36 minutes wasn’t enough to secure victory on Saturday as Bayern stalled in a 2-2 draw at home with Stuttgart, conceding a last-gasp equaliser from the penalty spot.
Still, though, the moment cannot be taken away from Tel, who has stolen headlines by making an impact in Bayern’s stacked first-team squad at such a young age.
Tel’s strike ensured he stole the impressive statistic away from Bayern teammate and fellow young starlet Jamal Musiala, who was 17 years and 205 days when he bagged against Schalke in 2020.
Despite his age, the Frenchman has featured three times in the Bundesliga this season under Julian Nagelsmann, with his goal coming in his first league start of the campaign.
The moment that Bayern’s Mathys Tel became the Bundesliga’s youngest ever goalscorer at the age of 17 years and 136 days! 🙌
Remember the name! 🤩pic.twitter.com/QpzwQD8QP9
— 90min (@90min_Football) September 10, 2022
But who exactly is he, and why is the hype around him so high?
Tel, 17, joined Bayern Munich from Rennes this summer in a deal worth €28.5m when including bonuses – quite the sum for a teenager.
Not only is he now the club’s youngest Bundesliga scorer, he is also the club’s youngest scorer full stop, having bagged in the DFB-Pokal against Viktoria Koln, aged 17 years and 126 days.
He made his professional debut for Rennes aged just 16, following in the footsteps of Eduardo Camavinga, who now plays for Real Madrid. Not bad company to be in, that.
A French youth international, Tel plies his trade as a forward and has five goals in six caps for France’s under-18 side. He’s more than just a striker, though; the 17-year-old is a versatile asset and can operate on either wing, making use of his turn of pace and skill on the ball.
Before making the step up to the under-18 setup, Tel captained France at under-17 level and led them to a European Championships triumph.
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Bagging a goal so soon into your tenure at Bayern Munich is a brilliant start and bodes well for a young player wanting to forge a career as one of the game’s most electrifying forwards, which he can certainly do with that wand of a right foot.
However, it wasn’t always all about goals and stealing the headlines for Tel. It wasn’t until he moved to Rennes in 2020 that he was turned into a striker, having played as a central defender in the academy at previous clubs at youth level.
As well as an obvious eye for goal, what stands out when watching Tel are his mighty physical traits. Despite his age, he’s strong in possession of the ball and possesses a wicked turn of pace. Combine that with an exceptional dribbling ability and a knack for playing with his back to goal, and you’ve got a pretty exceptional talent in the making.
Of course, it’s very early days for Tel and while shattering such records so soon into his career at Bayern is nice, both he and the club will be aware that this is merely the beginning of the journey.
It appears he already has the trust of Nagelsmann and, with Bayern looking to reshape their attack following Robert Lewandowski’s transfer to Barcelona, now is as good a time as ever for Tel to stake his claim and thrust them forward once again.
