Barcelona have reportedly narrowed down their shortlist to replace Xavi Hernandez to three or four candidates, although the process is believed to be on pause currently, with speculation that he could U-turn on his decision to leave. However the good news for the Blaugrana is that one of their top targets is not in talks with Bayern Munich.
Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi is one of the most sought after coaches in Europe, and has been linked with Barcelona, Bayern and Liverpool this summer. As per Florian Plettenberg, de Zerbi is not in talks with Bayern, preferring instead to focus on the finale of the season, despite being aware of interest from Bavaria.
🚨Roberto De Zerbi, top candidate for FC Bayern in case Xabi #Alonso stays at Bayer 04 Leverkusen!
➡️ @SPORTBILD confirms our news now
➡️ De Zerbi is aware of Bayern’s interest but is currently fully focused on the season finale with Brighton. That's why he's not in… pic.twitter.com/F1USYV1s5b
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) March 27, 2024
The bad news is that he is their second-top target after Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, and if the latter does not take the role, then Bayern will pursue him.
Bayern feature heavily in the history of some of the alternatives to Xavi Hernandez, with Hansi Flick, Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel representing the penultimate, the last and the current coaches at the Allianz Arena.
I personally don’t understand all the hype around de Zerbi his teams play great football yes but no one seems to highlight the huge amount of goals his teams concede almost every match,i much prefer the german option of either julian nagelsmann,hansi flick.