By Manuel Schwarz and Carolin Paul, dpa
MUNICH – Austria coach Ralf Rangnick is a top candidate to take charge at Bayern Munich from summer onwards in succession of Thomas Tuchel, according to German news reports on Tuesday.
Local papers Münchner Merkur/tz as well as the Bild paper said that Rangnick was now the favourite to fill the vacancy.
Sky TV said that Rangnick was interested and Sport Bild added that first talks have taken place and were now to be intensified.
There has been no official statement from either side but the reports suggested an agreement could come before the end of the week.
Rangnick, 65, has formerly coached German clubs including Schalke and RB Leipzig, and was interim manager at Manchester United in 2021-22. He was appointed Austria coach in 2022 and has a contract until 2026.
Leipizg forward Yussuf Poulsen, who worked with Rangnick during his term at the club, said he trusts the coach to do a good job at Bayern.
“He’s a fantastic coach. He’s shown that often enough,” Poulsen told the media on Tuesday.
“He simply has quality and can make any team better. So I’m not surprised that Bayern are looking in this direction,” he added.
First talks with Bayern were held before other top candidates Xabi Alonso of Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen and German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann made themselves unavailable to saying they would continue in their positions.
Other names mentioned include Aston Villa’s Unai Emery and Roberto de Zerbi of Brighton & Hove Albion. Emery, however, reportedly signed a new contract with Villa.
Meanwhile, Spanish media suggested last week that former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was also a candidate.
Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl said last week that a decision was nearing and that they were aiming to have an agreement with a new coach as soon as possible.
Tuchel was appointed in March last year in succession of Nagelsmann, on a contract until 2025. But it was decided a few weeks ago by mutual consent that he would leave at the end of the season.
