Could Bayern Munich change their minds and keep Thomas Tuchel?

Bayern Munich still do not have a Thomas Tuchel replacement lined up for after this season and the candidate’s list is getting smaller and smaller as the season dwindles down to an end. All signs were pointing towards Bayern agreeing an exit fee with the OFB to break Ralf Rangnick from his contract as Austrian national team manager, but after intensive discussions with the governing board for the national team, the former Bundesliga and Manchester United interim manager has decided to stay at the helm for Austria for the time being.

This comes as yet another blow for Bayern in their search for a new manager after Julian Nagelsmann was the favorite for board member for sport Max Eberl and sporting director Christoph Freund. They both very much liked the idea of the former Bayern, RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim manager making a return to the Rekordmeister, but he has signed an extension with the DFB that will see him remain German national team manager through World Cup 2026.

Other names have been mentioned in the conversation with Bayern to replace Tuchel, but nothing has gotten more advanced than it had for either Nagelsmann or Rangnick. Unai Emery, Zinedine Zidane, Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho, and Arne Slot had all been linked with Bayern at one point or another, but all of said links were just rumors and nothing more than that.

The club has already ruled out the possibility of Tuchel staying on beyond this season and the manager himself is being considered by Manchester United to replace Erik Ten Hag. However, Norwegian pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft recently said that he feels the club could backtrack on their decision to rule out Tuchel staying for any longer.

To follow, he does feel that Tuchel will deny the opportunity if it does present itself with the club reverting back on their decision:

There is a feeling that Tuchel would very much prefer a return to the Premier League in England, where he has previously won the Champions League with Chelsea FC. He is still in the running to get yet another Champions League title with Bayern if they can get past Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-finals and go on to beat the aggregate winner of Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain on the other side of the bracket.