Bayern Munich director Max Eberl has denied that the club have made any contact with Ralf Rangnick over potentially taking up a managerial role next season.
Thomas Tuchel announced that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season after losing 3-2 to Bochum in the Bundesliga last month.
While Tuchel was able to guide Bayern into the Champions League quarter-finals by turning their tie against Lazio around, form domestically has still not picked up.
A draw with Freiburg allowed Bayer Leverkusen to go 10 points clear, and a surprise home defeat in Der Klassiker on Saturday meant that the gap was extended by another three, following Die Werkself's dramatic late turnaround against Hoffenheim.
With Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso now off the market this summer, Bayern will have to look elsewhere for a new manager over the summer.
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Bayern linked with shock move for Rangnick
Earlier in the week, German outlet Kicker stated that Bayern were looking at bringing former Manchester United boss Rangnick in as their new manager.
The report claimed that Rangnick was the first alternative should a move for Alonso not transpire, which now will not, after he announced that he is staying at Leverkusen next season.
Rangnick is still held in high regard in Germany thanks to the work that he achieved at RB Leipzig, and after a disastrous caretaker spell at Manchester United, the German manager is now impressing again as the manager of Austria.
Sporting director Christoph Freund knows Rangnick well too, having worked with him a decade ago at Red Bull Salzburg, but another member of the board has denied that any contact has been made.
Speaking to ZDF, Eberl refused to reveal anything about the ongoing manager hunt, and said certain headlines are "strange" regarding possible candidates.
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Eberl denies any substance in Rangnick links
When asked about the substance of recent links to certain managers, Eberl sarcastically revealed: "So much so that Antonio Conte is apparently sending us lists of players we want to look for. You can see how strange these headlines are.
"I won't comment on names anyway. I do not do that. We have ideas, we have clear ideas. Christoph, me and the club. We are now trying to implement that as quickly as possible." Eberl told ZDF.
"From the beginning, I didn't comment on any names and I won't do that now either. Especially the question about Ralf Rangnick, Antonio Conte, whom I mentioned, and then there's another one in the Premier League who is apparently very interesting for us."
That Premier League name is Roberto De Zerbi, who is among one of the favourites, alongside Rangnick and Conte, while Kicker has also thrown the name of Hansi Flick into the hat.
While work continues behind the scenes ahead of next season, Bayern still have the Champions League to contend for, and face Arsenal in their quarter-final first leg next midweek.
Andrew Delaney
