Bayern Make De Zerbi Leading Candidate To Replace Tuchel

Roberto De Zerbi, who is a transfer target for Liverpool, has emerged as a “leading candidate” to take over as manager of Bayern Munich following Xabi Alonso’s rejection of both clubs.

The Times says that with the huge announcement last week that Xabi Alonso plans to stick with his present team, Bayer Leverkusen, Munich’s focus is now on De Zerbi. According to reports, new Bayern director Max Eberl admires the Italian, and plans are in place to determine his availability and level of interest. On their two-man shortlist is Ruben Amorim of Sporting CP.

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Liverpool were also targeting Alonso as a replacement for Jurgen Klopp but have had their eye on De Zerbi too. Amorim is another heavily linked with Anfield, suggesting there is plenty of potential for Liverpool and Bayern to clash heads in the coming weeks. De Zerbi has the added benefit of already speaking English – but not German – and being proven in the Premier League after doing a remarkbale job with Brighton. Last season, the Seagulls achieved their highest ever league finish (sixth in the Premier League) and qualified for European football for the first time ever.

De Zerbi left his future rather open when he spoke ahead of Brighton’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday: “I want to speak with my club. I have a contract but the problem is not the contract, the problem is to find the same plan, the same target, the same vision for the future.

“I have not decided yet what is my future, because I have the contract, but anyway I want to speak with [owner] Tony [Bloom], my club, to understand their plan, to understand his plan, the Tony plan. Then we take the decision together, without problems. I want to keep my ambition, my motivation. I live for football 24 hours a day. I want to know what is the plan, what is the project, what is the future because if I don’t feel comfortable, I don’t feel the right motivation, I can’t stay any longer.”

De Zerbi had established himself with Sassuolo, achieving comparable success, before finding success with Brighton. Under his leadership, the team, who had previously played in Italy’s lower divisions until 2013, achieved consecutive eighth-place finishes in Serie A in 2019/20 and 2020/21. The winning Italian lineup at Euro 2020 included three members of his Sassuolo team.

In short, there will be a lot for De Zerbi to think about soon. Though he seems to have slipped from the heights of last season, based on his recent remarks, it appears that he is only willing to continue at Brighton provided the team can match his ambition. Even though he has worked abroad in both England and Ukraine during his career to date—with Shakhtar Donetsk—moving to a new nation would be a bigger task for Bayern. To win the Premier League, however, would require even more competition.