Arsene Wenger out of race for Bayern Munich job after holding talks

Arsene Wenger

Niko Kovac was given his marching orders after his Bayern side went down to a humiliating 5-1 defeat at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last weekend.

Wenger was soon linked with the vacancy, having been out of management since leaving Arsenal at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.

But Sky in Germany has reported that the Frenchman is out of the race following a telephone discussion with Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on Wednesday.

The German champions’ hierarchy is said to have decided after the initial contact that the 70-year-old was no longer an option for the role.

The outlet believes that there could be further developments from Sunday onwards, but an appointment is unlikely to be made before Saturday’s crucial Bundesliga clash with Borussia Dortmund.

Ajax boss Erik ten Hag is understood to be the favourite to land the job, after leading the Dutch club to the Champions League semi-finals and a league and cup double last season.

However, Ten Hag would prefer to stay with the Amsterdam outfit until the season is finished, saying:  "I feel a strong connection with my team and everyone at Ajax".

In the meantime, the reins have been handed to Hansi Flick, who led Bayern to a 2-0 victory over Olympiacos on Wednesday which guaranteed their progress to the Champions League knockout stages.

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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.