In a move that no one saw coming, German giants Bayern Munich have parted ways with highly-touted manager Julian Nagelsmann with immediate effect, with the club releasing an official statement earlier today detailing the situation that has led up to their decision.
Though Bayern went into the international break as one of the tournament favorites in the Champions League after winning all eight fixtures en route to a quarterfinal clash with Manchester City, the Bavarians have dropped points in ten of twenty-five Bundesliga fixtures this season (15-7-3) and currently sit one point of league leaders and rivals Borussia Dortmund.
The data still paints a picture that Bayern remained the favorite to top the table come the end of the season, but club CEO Oliver Kahn, sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić, and club president Herbert Hainer came to a collective decision to relieve Nagelsmann of command during the international lull after cumulative infractions (see below Twitter thread from ESPN’s lead Bundesliga commentator Derek Rae) in the eyes of club leadership has led them to his juncture.
🧵 No indications that there was one single incident that resulted in Bayern making the decision to sack Nagelsmann. Cumulative factors re player power vs. a coach who took on a few risky battles, especially jettisoning gk coach Tapalovic (Neuer’s ally) & bringing in Rechner.
— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) March 24, 2023
Bayern has decided to replace Nagelsmann with former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel; a headmaster the board has admired for quite some time.
Widely viewed as one of the brightest young minds on the touchline anywhere in the world, Nagelsmann is now on the market for what will be the fourth employer after the 35-year-old incrementally rose through the managerial ranks in Germany during stints with TSG Hoffenheim, FC Augsburg, and RB Leipzig.
Linked with credible interest from Tottenham in the wake of Antonio Conte’s public tirade that is likely to cost him his job in north London, Nagelsmann will once again have a chance to join Spurs after nearly taking up the position in the English capital before ultimately opting to head for Saxony with RBL.
And then of course there is Chelsea, who can never be counted out on any head-scratching decision since the arrival of billionaire duo Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali. Though publically the Blues ownership team continues to back Graham Potter, the sands could easily shift if Chelsea does not go on to win the Champions League while equally failing to make a run into the European places before the conclusion of the current Premier League campaign.
But which of the four possible destinations would be the best fit for the Landsberg am Lech native?
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Tottenham Hotspur FC
The only job guaranteed to be available as early as the final months of the current 2022-23 Premier League season, a move to north London at the very least presents the potential to hop right back in the managerial saddle should Nagelsmann wish to avoid any break in employment despite Bayern having to pay him for the duration of any lull he may decide on.
Previously linked with interest from Tottenham on two occasions in the past as a possible replacement for both Mauricio Pochettino and José Mourinho, ESPN correspondent Archie Rhind-Tutt eluded to the young tactician possibly being keen on a possible appointment, stating “I think that Nagelsmann would walk into the Tottenham job! I know for a fact from someone who was close to Nagelsmann that he actually had an affinity for them at one point, not a fan, but thought of them as a good club.” But the circumstances at Spurs hardly play in the club’s hands in terms of whether or not Nagelsmann would be a symbiotic fit for the club.
First, the notion that club chairman Daniel Levy failed to supply Antonio Conte with the necessary pieces for the Italian to instill his system in the first team would immediately come into contention with Nagelsmann; a man who certainly is headstrong when it comes to his vision(s) regarding how he prefers to build out his senior squad. The well-documented and regular clashes with the Bayern board over player recruitment speaks to this as well.
And second, there is the notion that Tottenham is a side in need of considerable surgery while also potentially dealing with the possible departure of key man Harry Kane. Nagelsmann already had to contend with the question of what to do after Bayern lost Robert Lewandowski, and there is no telling if he would want to take on a role that would come with a near-identical problem. Is he good enough for Spurs? Undoubtedly. Are the club’s concerns enough to possibly keep him at arm’s distance? Time will tell.
Chelsea
Despite club bosses Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali remaining in Graham Potter’s corner amid a season at Stamford Bridge that has been well below the standards set by one of the biggest sides in the Premier League. The ownership pair have also shown themselves to be impulsive since taking charge in west London when it comes to transfers, so it is easy to suggest the same trait could bubble to the surface regarding Potter’s tenure.
With Chelsea currently sitting in tenth and eleven points adrift of the Champions League places, few expect the Blues to gain access to Europe’s premier club competition via league qualification come May, which means the former Brighton boss would have to perform above and beyond any previous unit of measurement seen across his managerial career to date and win the competition outright.
Should he fail in that task, and the club’s results on the domestic front not consistently improve, there is scope to suggest the Blues could pull the plug, and there are certainly better pieces for Nagelsmann to sink his teeth into than across town with Spurs.
The Blues have gone out of their way to secure a large number of young talents both during the summer and winter transfer windows while not shying away from spending over £600m to hopefully set themselves up for long-term success, with additional spending to support a new managers vision hardly out of their financial capabilities. Many of those acquired player profiles suit the German to the ground on a tactical level, while a possible reuniting with Christopher Nkunku, who is still widely expected to join the Blues in the summer, could be the icing on the cake. This, however, only remains a theory.
Paris Saint-Germain
A club that operates like a managerial merry-go-round regardless of their immense domestic success in recent years, Paris Saint-Germain have ultimately not secured the one major honor they so desperately are after; the Champions League. Despite currently deploying a front three consisting of Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, and Neymar, the Parisian giants crashed out of Europe in the round of 16, ironically at the hands of Nagelsmann’s Bayern.
Murmurings surrounding the Parc des Princes have led many to believe that both Messi and Neymar will be out the door in the city of lights in the summer, with the club transitioning to a more sustainable approach to the transfer market and the acquisition of gifted young talent they can grow with over a longer period; a stark contrast to their traditional modus operandi. This transition, should it occur, would suit Nagelsmann well, with his periods with Hoffenheim and Leipzig offering plenty of evidence on the matter.
Moreover, the notion that Christoph Galtier may also be walking away from the French capital would open the door further for the 35-year-old, though PSG is also linked with possible interest in Zinedine Zidane, Antonio Conte, Marcelo Gallardo, Luis Enrique, Rúben Amorim, Thiago Motta, Carlo Ancelotti, Oliver Glasner, and José Mourinho.
If longevity amid faith in younger stars is the play for PSG, then Nagelsmann would certainly be ahead of quite a few of the names on that shortlist, with current senior figures like the aforementioned Mbappé, El Chadaille Bitshiabu, Nuno Mendes, Timothée Pembélé, Warren Zaïre-Emery, and Hugo Ekitiké already on the books. Interest in PSV Eindhoven starlet Xavi Simons shows PSG could certainly be considering a new direction as well, and Nagelsmann would also certainly enjoy the financial benefits that come with the club’s ownership and historic spending habits.
Real Madrid
Reports that Carlo Ancelotti remains heavily linked with a departure from current La Liga and Champions League holders Real Madrid could not continue at a better time for Nagelsmann after the iconic Italian manager is on the shortlist to take over as the next boss of the Brazilian national team. His body of work has included time with Vinícius Junior, Rodrygo, Casemiro, and Éder Militão at the Santiago Bernabeu would certainly serve him well if he was to express interest in the position, but would leave Madrid in a bind as it would see him walk a year before the end of his contract.
The Spanish giants could always once again turn to Zinedine Zidane for a third stint on the back of his two previous periods with the club that yielded trophy hauls, but given that the club has long been admirers of the German, his availability could offer a more long-term approach to the possible vacancy.
Importantly for both parties that would be involved, is the notion that Real no longer is tied to a transfer remit that consists of only signing high-priced galacticos. Across the last two seasons, Real has seen fit to purchase Endrick, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Eduardo Camavinga, while currently coming in as one of a few clubs that hold a serious interest in Dortmund wunderkind Jude Bellingham; who is all but guaranteed to leave the Ruhr valley this summer.
There would hardly be the need for major surgery across the senior setup at Madrid to accommodate a Nagelsmann approach on the pitch given the puzzle pieces already in place, but the question about aging stars Karim Benzema and Luka Modrić certainly would be possible headaches in terms of just how one would replace two figures that are the very face of success in the capital in recent seasons. Still, a manager of his heraldry would certainly be on the club’s shortlist if Ancelotti does decide to take command of the Seleção.
