Bayern Munich suffered a big blow this week in their search for a new head coach. The Bavarian club will miss out on their top target- Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard has decided to snub interest from Bayern and Liverpool to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.
The Bavarian club has to look at other options in their shortlist to replace Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season. As per several reports, Roberto De Zerbi and Unai Emery have been linked with a move to Bayern. The latest murmurs from Germany confirm another name as a possible alternative to Alonso.
According to Kicker, the Austrian national team’s head coach, Ralf Rangnick, is also one of the options for Bayern to replace Thomas Tuchel. Rangnick is accustomed to the Bundesliga since he had a successful coaching stint at RB Leipzig before taking over as sporting director. He also had coaching stints at VfB Stuttgart, Schalke, Hannover, and Hoffenheim.
The German coach also had an interim stint at Manchester United before taking over the head coach position of the Austrian national team. RB Leipzig played an impressive brand of football under Rangnick. However, Rangnick's majority of success came in the sporting director role. He also took up an administrative role at Lokomotiv Moscow in 2021 after leaving RB Leipzig. It will be a strange choice for Die Roten since the 65-year-old's main strengths lie in executive roles instead of becoming a head coach.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports in Germany has reported that Rangnick is not in the running for the head coach position at Bayern. The German coach was internally discussed as an option at Bayern, but he is not the top candidate for the role.
Ralf Rangnick will NOT be Bayern's new coach. Roberto De Zerbi remains in the running [@SkySportDE] pic.twitter.com/URT6ZkCnG9
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) March 29, 2024
It does look like Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi is the top priority for Bayern. Max Eberl reportedly held talks with the Italian coach during the international break. Bayern will look to move ahead with negotiations quickly since De Zerbi features on the shortlist at Liverpool to replace Jurgen Klopp in the summer.
The early decision from Alonso gives Bayern much-needed clarity. They don’t have to wait until the end of the season to make a firm decision on the new coach. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the record Bundesliga champions have a deal in place for the new coach by the end of April. A quicker decision on the head coach will allow Bayern to start executing transfer plans for the summer.