Former RB Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco has turned down a Bundesliga return with Stuttgart amid claims that he could replace Ralph Hasenhuttl at Premier League outfit Southampton, according to Sky Germany.
If you hadn’t have guessed, we’re at that stage of the season when struggling clubs are starting to get nervous. The fingers of many a chairman quivering over the trigger.
Wolves, West Brom and Middlesbrough have all sacked head coaches in October. And, according to The Telegraph, Hasenhuttl’s head could be the next on the chopping block. Relations behind the scenes at St Mary’s are understood to be strained. The Austrian, they say, is ‘on the brink.
And, in an interesting twist of fate, another former Red Bull tactician could take Hasenhuttl’s place on the South Coast. 37-year-old Tedesco is looking for a fresh challenge after paying the price for Leipzig’s own early-season problems; sacked following a Champions League humiliation at the hands of a Mykhaylo Mudryk-inspired Shakhtar Donetsk side.
Southampton eye Domenico Tedesco as Ralph Hasenhuttl replacement
Stuttgart, relegation-threatened and winless in nine Bundesliga matches, have also shown an interest in Tedesco. The one-time Schalke boss rebuffed their advances, however. The uncertainty surrounding the future of Stuttgart director Sven Mislintat – who’s contract expires in 2023 – reportedly played a role in the Italian’s decision to turn down an immediate return to German football (Stuttgarter Zeitung).
Tedesco’s CV makes for rather intriguing reading.
He led Schalke side to second place in the 2017/18 season; sparking a famous comeback from four goals down in a thrilling Rhine derby with Dortmund. Schalke would be relegated in dismal fashion just three years later; a testament to how much they underachieved under Tedesco’s management.
Tedesco then qualified for the Champions League with Spartak Moscow. He successfully breathed life into Leipzig’s 2021/22 season, too, following the ill-fated Jesse Marsch era.
Tedesco also famously outscored fellow managerial prodigy Julian Nagelsmann during their coaching exams, having shared a class with the now-Bayern Munich boss.
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