Bayern Munich finally 'close to agreeing deal' in new manager hunt

Bayern Munich are reported to be close to agreeing a deal to Vincent Kompany their new head coach, potentially soon ending a search that has dragged on for several months.

Kompany has impressed in the Premier League this season, despite being unable to keep the Burnley side that he himself got promoted a year ago, and talks with Bayern got underway this week.

The Guardian writes that those negotiations have reached an "advanced stage" and that Bayern are in contact with Burnley over the amount of compensation to be paid. A deal could be just days away.

Bayern have been hit with multiple rejections since they opted to dispense with Thomas Tuchel. That decision was originally made in February, with the German seeing out the season rather than have a repeat of the previous campaign when Julian Nagelsmann was sacked in March.

But Xabi Alonso stayed loyal to Bayer Leverkusen, Nagelsmann extended with the DFB as Germany national team coach instead of returning and Ralf Rangnick also said no. There was even a brief attempt to go crawling back to Tuchel, but he didn't want to stay on.

38-year-old Kompany, although a surprise candidate given his lack of managerial experience, has plenty of merits. He was an intelligent player, has been praised for his methods, and was privy to Pep Guardiola's inner workings for three years at Manchester City.

Proficiency in German, while not absolutely necessary, is long thought to have been preferable for the Bayern hierarchy and Kompany is fluent - he spent time during his playing career at Hamburg.

Bayern will begin the 2024/25 season looking to reclaim the Bundesliga title from Bayer Leverkusen. Expectations are set to be higher than ever, while they will remain among the favourites to win the Champions League, even with a new coach still just starting out.

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