The past few weeks have seen significant changes in the goalkeeping department at Bayern Munich. The Bavarian club suffered a significant blow in December as Manuel Neuer broke his leg in a freak accident during a ski trip. Neuer was ruled out for the rest of the season as he underwent surgery to start the recovery process.
Die Roten explored the possibility of recalling Alexander Nubel from his loan spell with Monaco. However, they couldn’t reach an agreement with Monaco, and Nubel was not keen on returning to Bayern midway through the season. The defending Bundesliga champions eventually agreed a deal with Borussia Monchengladbach to sign Yann Sommer.
Along with a change in playing personnel in the goalkeeping department, there was a big coaching change in the first team this week. Die Roten confirmed the departure of Toni Tapalovic at the start of the week. Tapalovic has been working with Bayern as a goalkeeping coach for more than a decade.
The reports in Germany have suggested that there was friction between Tapalovic and Julian Nagelsmann, which eventually led to the departure of the former. Die Roten has now started the process of finding a replacement of Tapalovic.
According to Sky Sports in Germany, Bayern wants to bring Hoffenheim’s Michael Rechner to replace Tapalovic. Rechner has previously worked with Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim. Die Roten needs to negotiate with Hoffenheim for Reihner’s release. Previously, former Bayern goalkeeper Tom Starke was tipped to replace Tapalovic, but Nagelsmann probably wants a reunion with Rechner in Bavaria.
X News Michael #Rechner: It’s far! Nagelsmann is pushing for him. He’s the top target for Bayern in order to replace #Tapalovic now. Next talks and negotiations with Hoffenheim will take place. Bayern have informed Hoffenheim about their plans. @SkySportDE 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/O2sK72eO7A
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) January 25, 2023
The departure of Tapalovic and the arrival of Rechner further show how much faith Bayern has in Julian Nagelsmann. The German coach is part of the long-term vision in Bavaria as he continues to assemble the coaching staff that he needs to achieve success at the club. Rekordmeister will be hoping to finalize the arrival of Rechner sooner rather than later, as games are coming thick and fast in all competitions.
The departure of Tapalovic will be a big blow for Manuel Neuer since he has been working with him for a long time. Meanwhile, it will hardly matter for Sommer. The Swiss goalkeeper has just arrived at the club, so he hardly got any time to work with Tapalovic.
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Meanwhile, Nagelsmann will be looking to get things right for Bayern after a shaky start to 2023. The defending Bundesliga champions have dropped points against RB Leipzig and FC Koln in the past few days. They will be looking to register their first win of the year when they host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.