Klopp tipped for SHOCK return to management as Bayern decide on new coach
An intriguing new career path has emerged for Jurgen Klopp following reports that Julian Nagelsmann is wanted back by Bayern Munich.
Nagelsmann, 36, was only sacked by Bayern last March and replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who just about managed to get FC Hollywood over the line ahead of Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga title race.
However, things haven’t gone well for Tuchel this season and he was informed a couple of months ago that Bayern would be seeking a “sporting realignment” in the summer - in the words of club CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen.
Bayern will be dispensing with his services as coach and, like Liverpool, are in the market for a replacement.
With Xabi Alonso off-limits to both Bayern and Liverpool, alternatives must be considered and that means Bayern have arrived back at Nagelsmann’s door, according to reports in Germany.
The former Bayern coach took up the head coach role with Germany following his dismissal in Bavaria and is set to lead a revived Nationalmannschaft into the European Championship on home soil.
Germany look a different prospect under Nagelsmann and are among the favourites to lift the title.
The problem for the German football association (DFB) is that their coach is only contracted until the end of the Euros and so far no breakthrough has been made over a new deal.
It’s widely expected that he would like to move back into club coaching with Bayern high up on the list of clubs who would like to appoint him.
Klopp tipped for Germany vacancy... in 2025
That would leave a vacancy at the helm of the German team and this is where Klopp comes in… albeit not straight away.
The 56-year-old announced in January that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, citing exhaustion, and he is expected to take a sabbatical before committing to a new job.
And now comes the news from Germany that the DFB is considering appointing Nagelsmann’s assistant Sandro Wagner as interim head coach following the Euros and into 2025, by which point Klopp will have had his rest.
The association would then seek to appoint Klopp as full-time head coach in time for Germany’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
As of last week, however, the Liverpool manager was still planning to take a break.
“In this moment, I don't plan a further career as a manager. Maybe ask me in a year, but not in this moment,” he said in the pre-match press conference before Liverpool’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Atalanta.