Former Dortmund boss ‘deep in talks’ over Arsenal job

Matt Stead
Tuche;

Thomas Tuchel is in advanced negotiations with Arsenal about succeeding Arsene Wenger this summer, according to multiple reports on Sunday morning.

The former Borussia Dortmund manager has even reportedly told Bayern Munich he is not interested in succeeding Juup Heynckes at the Bundesliga giants after making a switch to the Premier League his priority this summer.

And SportsBild claim that he is already deep in talks with the Gunners about taking charge, with an announcement possibly close.

Tuchel, who has also been linked with Chelsea, has been out of work since he was axed by Dortmund last May – just days after leading them to German Cup success.

But the link to Arsenal appears to make sense, given his past working relationship with the Gunners’ recently-appointed director of football Sven Mislintat.

The player will also be familiar with former Dortmund duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while Granit Xhaka and Sead Kolasinac also having had spells in the Bundesliga.

Claims that Tuchel will reject Bayern to take charge at Arsenal will come as a major blow for Bayern, who had appeared to have made him their No 1 target to take charge this summer.

Heynckes, 72, had already voiced his approval of the former Dortmund coach as his successor by saying: “Thomas Tuchel has the quality to coach Bayern. I rate Thomas Tuchel. He has continued the progression from the youth teams at Mainz.

“That is the stairway to success that you must take, learning the correct approach and people skills.

“Under Tuchel, Borussia Dortmund played excellent football with a good system – all of today’s modern footballing elements were there for everyone to see.

“Tuchel’s side finished runners-up, won the DFB Pokal and played attractive football. I had fun watching BVB, that’s why I respect and rate him as a very good trainer.”

Bayern will now reportedly turn to RB Leipzig’s Ralph Hasenhuttl or Entracht Frankfurt’s Niko Kovac instead – while Mauricio Pochettino has also been mentioned as a possible target.

Bookmakers, meanwhile, have responded to Sunday’s reports by making Tuchel the new 5/1 favourite (in from 20/1) to succeed the Frenchman in north London.