Antonio Conte is reportedly among the favourites in becoming Bayern Munich’s next manager as criticism mounts on Thomas Tuchel.

Bayern Munich have lost their previous three matches, and their season is on the verge of unravelling. The German Champions are now eight points behind the leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and trail 1-0 going into the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Lazio.

Tuchel appears to be clinging on by a thread, and Bayern are said to be keeping an eye on former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as well as Xabi Alonso and Hansi Flick, as they consider replacing Tuchel in the dugout. According to Bild, Conte is also interested in replacing Tuchel and has picked Bayern as his ‘ideal club’ for his next transfer.

Antonio Conte won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2016-17 and has four other trophies from his career in Italy with Juventus and Inter Milan. The 54-year-old now wants to win the Bundesliga and is considering returning to the sidelines to lead Bayern. A transfer to Bayern for the Italian would reunite Conte and Harry Kane, who previously worked together at Tottenham. In 75 games under Conte for the north London club, the England captain scored 43 goals and assisted 14 times.

According to Bild reporter Christian Falk, Bayern are keeping an eye on Flick, who guided them to a record Treble in 2020, while Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness is a surprise possibility on their list of potential replacements for Tuchel. Hoeness has led Stuttgart to third place in the Bundesliga, four points behind Bayern, but any approach for him would not take place until at least the summer.

Bayern’s backing for Tuchel

Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen has thrown his support behind Tuchel for the time being, but the former Chelsea manager is running out of time to turn things around. His Bayern side was humiliated by Leverkusen in the league earlier this month and suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at Bochum on Sunday.

Bayern defensive midfielder Joshua Kimmich reportedly got involved in a heated argument with Tuchel’s assistant, Zsolt Low, following the game, with players having to intervene to separate the two, while Tuchel recently admitted that star striker Kane is ‘not happy’ with the service he has been receiving from his teammates.

The German heavyweights return to action this weekend, hosting fifth-placed RB Leipzig, and a fourth consecutive loss could force Bayern to make a change. 

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