Nagelsmann’s Bayern snub could now see Munich snatch Liverpool managerial candidate

It’s another spanner in the works for Bayern Munich as Julian Nagelsmann opted to stay put with the German national team.

Christian Falk reported on X (via Twitter) that the 36-year-old is set to put pen to paper on a contract extension with the DFB until 2026.

Breaking: Julian Nagelsmann will sign a new contract Til 2026 at DFB and will not be Coach of Bayern Munich @BILD_Sport @altobelli13 @YvonneGab

— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) April 19, 2024

It could very well mean that the Bavarians go full steam ahead for Brighton & Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi.

“Bayern are still looking at Roberto De Zerbi. The fact that the Brighton coach recently said publicly that he doesn’t want to leave his club shouldn’t fool anyone. Because De Zerbi is not only interested in a top outfit like Bayern, he is also a big fan of the city of Munich,” the Bundesliga-based reporter exclusively informed CaughtOffside.

“The background to the secret love is: De Zerbi has a friend at FC Bayern whom he has visited several times. Gianni Bianchi is a physiotherapist at FC Bayern; the Italian once came to FC Bayern with Luca Toni, former striker and world champion. Bianchi showed De Zerbi the city, which apparently fascinated the coach. Munich is considered the secret “northernmost city” in Italy. No wonder that the Italian coach can imagine a move.

“Other candidates for Bayern are still: Ralf Rangnick, national coach of Austria, and Roger Schmidt, Benfica Lisbon. There were rumours from Spain that Bayern had a meeting with Zinedine Zidane. But the club denied it to me.”

MORE: Manchester United & Arsenal would directly benefit from Nagelsmann’s Bayern fire sale

A piece off the board for Liverpool and others

Barcelona and Liverpool are among the European heavyweights in need of fresh management this summer.

Both were understood to be admirers of the Seagulls’ head coach (Mirror / BeSoccer), though it’s understood that Ruben Amorim is currently the frontrunner for the vacancy at Anfield.

The Portuguese head coach has, however, since raised eyebrows over in Merseyside with claims that he hasn’t yet finished his ‘cycle’ in Lisbon.

Whether that forces the Reds to re-consider De Zerbi as a serious option remains to be seen.

Fans could yet be treated to a three-way battle for the Italian’s signature.