Manchester United wanted to bolster their attacking options by recruiting Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich in January.
In a shocking twist, the German giants allowed Tel to join Tottenham Hotspur on a loan deal for the remainder of the season.
The deal includes an option to buy Tel for approximately £46 million on a six-year contract.
However, Tel’s time in North London has been anything but spectacular.
Despite starting all four of his Premier League appearances, the 19-year-old has yet to find the back of the net.
He looks short of confidence in front of goal.
Creativity has also been a major concern, as he has failed to register a single big chance for his teammates.
His only goal for Spurs came in the FA Cup, a consolation strike in their 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
He was substituted at half-time in the first leg of their Europa League tie against AZ and completely overlooked for the return fixture.
There is no doubt that Tel is a gifted talent, blessed with explosive dribbling and raw attacking ability.
He possesses the traits to develop into a top-class forward, but right now, he looks too unpolished to thrive as a regular starter for a Premier League giant.
While he may still be a useful impact player off the bench, United needed a forward capable of cementing a place in the starting XI.
Rasmus Hojlund didn’t score for almost three months but he broke his barren spell with a fantastic strike against Fulham.
United will be hoping that Hojlund can now build on that moment.
If Hojlund can hit a rich vein of form for the rest of the season, the Red Devils might just save themselves millions in the transfer market this summer.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com