Bayern Munich director rejects claims from former Manchester United manager over approach before Vincent Kompany
Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl put down claims that the side were looking to hire former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.
Speaking to Sky Sports Germany's Kerry Hau, Eberl said:
“Well, I did not talk to him.”
This comes after Van Gaal himself claimed in an interview that he was offered the position. In a talk show on RTL, the Dutchman suggested that the Bavarian side approached him over their vacant position at the end of the season.
Former manager Thomas Tuchel reached an agreement with the club to leave at the end of the 2023-24 season. It was a disappointing season that saw the Bundesliga giants fail to win any trophies as they finished third in the league behind Bayer Leverkusen and Vfb Stuttgart. They were also knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-finals.
Many candidates were named as possible replacements for the German, but Bayern eventually hired ex-Burnley boss Vincent Kompany.
Van Gaal's last club management job was with Manchester United. He took the reins in the summer of 2014, replacing David Moyes. He lasted two seasons at Old Trafford, managing to win the FA Cup once. Since then, he has also managed the Netherlands national team for a year from August 2021 to December 2022, resigning after the World Cup.
Manchester United issue injury update on summer signing
Manchester United defender Leny Yoro has successfully undergone surgery on his injured foot. In a statement, the Red Devils confirmed that the 18-year-old had begun his rehabilitation program.
The statement read (via the club website):
“Leny Yoro has today had a successful surgery on his foot injury. Yoro’s rehabilitation starts now and we look forward to the 18-year-old returning to fitness in around three months."
Manchester United fans have been left disappointed with the setback suffered by the youngster. They expressed considerable excitement as the club beat off competition from Real Madrid to secure the services of the teenager, paying the Ligue 1 side a reported €62 million. However, he was taken off after just 35 minutes of action in the side's third pre-season game against Arsenal.
United will now hope to progress in negotiations with Bayern Munich over the signing of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. They were previously linked with Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite to fill in central defense, a position of need after Raphael Varane's departure and poor performances last season as they conceded 58 goals in the league.