The next couple of months will see Bayern Munich ramp up their efforts to find the new head coach. Die Roten have already decided to part ways with Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season due to inconsistent performances over the last 12 months.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso is the top target for Bayern to replace Tuchel. The Spaniard has reportedly held preliminary talks with Die Roten. While Alonso remains the desired candidate, Bayern also have other options on their shortlist.
Bayern’s director of sport, Max Eberl, reportedly held talks with Brighton’s head coach, Roberto De Zerbi. The Italian coach’s impressive work at Brighton in the last two seasons has attracted interest from several top clubs. He is expected to leave Brighton in the summer.
According to TZ, De Zerbi is not the only Premier League coach on Bayern’s shortlist to replace Tuchel. The Bavarian club also has Aston Villa’s Unai Emery on the list of targets for the head coach role.
Emery has done an incredible job at Aston Villa in the last 15 months. After replacing Steven Gerrard in October 2022, Emery brought an immediate upturn in Villa’s fortunes. He helped Villa qualify for the Europa Conference league in his first season. The Spanish coach is delivering even better performances this season, as Villa are fourth in the Premier League after 28 games.
Unai Emery has previously enjoyed success with Sevilla and Villarreal. He helped both Spanish clubs to win the Europa League. The Spanish coach had a difficult spell at Arsenal, but he recovered to enjoy success at Villarreal and eventually move to Aston Villa.
Bayern certainly have three good coaches on their shortlist to replace Tuchel. They are expected to push for Xabi Alonso before exploring moves for De Zerbi and Emery. Alonso reportedly prefers a move to Bavaria over Liverpool. From a financial point of view, Die Roten will have to pay a significant fee for any of the three coaches since they have long contracts at their respective clubs.
Bayern will look to have an agreement in place for the new coach before the end of the season. Bayer Leverkusen are on the cusp of making history as they lead the Bundesliga table by ten points. They are also alive in the DFB Pokal and Europa League. Leverkusen will not entertain talks for Alonso before the end of the campaign. Bayern needs to get clarity from Alonso. If the Spaniard is not ready to join in June, they will start negotiations for other targets.