Bayern Munich line up three-man manager shortlist as De Zerbi and ex-Man Utd boss edged out by shock candidate
BAYERN MUNICH are considering three shock candidates to take over from Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season.
Tuchel was essentially sacked in February with the club knocked out of the German FA Cup and drifting in the league.
GettyNagelsmann is in line for a sensational return to Bayern Munich[/caption]
GettyDe Zerbi could be an alternative[/caption]
But he was given a stay of execution until this summer with Bayern not in a position to immediately appoint a successor.
Fabrizio Romano reports that the club have a three-man list of Julian Nagelsmann, Roberto De Zerbi and Ralf Rangnick to take over the club next year.
Incredibly, former manager Nagelsmann is the current front-runner for the job.
Nagelsmann was sacked by Bayern almost a year ago to the day with the club keen to move for long-term target Tuchel.
Tuchel was believed to have held talks with Real Madrid and Tottenham and Bayern wanted to swoop before it was too late.
That saw Nagelsmann sacked despite him averaging 2.19 points per game during his 19 months in charge at Bayern.
Nagelsmann then went on to take charge of the German national team on a temporary contract until after the Euros.
It appears Bayern have admitted internally they made a mistake in sacking Nagelsmann and are in the embarrassing position of having to re-offer him the job.
Former United boss Ralf Rangnick is also an optionGetty
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They face competition from Germany, who intend to offer Nagelsmann a contract until after the 2026 World Cup.
Brighton boss De Zerbi also features in the list, with Bayern impressed with he football he has implemented on the south coast.
The Seagulls haven’t been quite as electric as they were last season but still sit in tenth after losing key players Moises Caicedo and Alexis MacAllister.
Former United manager Rangnick is another shock name on the list, but he has impressed since taking over the Austrian national team after implementing his gegenpressing style.
Tuchel showed why he could be the perfect man for Man Utd, says Andy Dillon
By Andy Dillon
TOMMY TUCHEL could not have done it better had he submitted his CV to LinkedIn or Indeed.
Somehow mustering some gumption from the worst Bayern Munich team in more than a decade to stop a rampant Arsenal dead in their tracks is a spectacular job advert for a manager soon to be looking for work.
If Sir Jim Ratcliffe wasn’t watching from his Old Trafford office or from the cinema room in one of his tax havens, he should have been.
They may have even sat up and taken notice in Newcastle or in the owners’ Riyadh hub as Tuchel reminded everyone of his credentials as a top-level coach with devilish timing.
If change is coming then Tuchel is playing a trump card.
His side turned up and cowed the team that, as far as the current Premier League goes, is the best in England.
It may only add to the questions around Tuchel that after tossing away the only league easier to win than Scotland’s or Spain’s, Munich have sprung to life in Europe.
After 11 years unopposed as German champions, Chelsea’s former manager has chucked it in at home in a remarkable act of ineptitude. But freak years can happen.
Tuchel is an enigma. But that is part of the appeal as much as winning the Champions League with Chelsea just three months after taking the job.
With no new signings, he took a team that had lost five of the previous ten games and turned them into European Champions.
With Ratcliffe considering swingeing budget cuts at Old Trafford, a coach who can perform wonders on peanuts would be music to his ears.
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