We may only be a few days into June, but have we already seen this summer’s most surprising move? Well, it’s surprising to most of us. Not to the man who saw Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea come calling in 2023, interest from two Premier League giants a sign of things to come.
Tottenham, lest we forget, only appointed Ange Postecoglou relatively late in their pursuit of an Antonio Conte replacement.
Spurs were certainly ahead of the curve in their interest in Xabi Alonso, looking at the Liverpool legend when he had only a few months of first-team coaching at Bayer Leverkusen under his belt. Long before Alonso was guiding Leverkusen to Bundesliga and German cup glory too.
The North London outfit also pursued Vincent Kompany around the same time, another Premier League great entering on the radar of a club who – after disappointing stints under Conte and Jose Mourinho – were clearly willing to take the punt on a more forward-thinking but less ‘proven’ option in the dugout.
Tottenham looked at Vincent Kompany during Burnley spell
12 months later, Kompany is preparing to go head-to-head with Alonso for the Bundesliga title. The Belgian’s switch from relegated Burnley to Bayern Munich may have raised more eyebrows than at a Carlo Ancelotti lookalike competition but one man who was not taken aback is Kompany’s father, having seen Tottenham, Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion all come knocking before FC Hollywood made their move for this up-and-coming director.
“It was a surprise to the whole world,” Pierre Kompany tells La Derniere Heure. “Well, not to me, if you look at which teams had already come knocking.
“Last year, you had Tottenham and Chelsea. Now, Brighton showed an interest, alongside Chelsea again. But when Bayern, a club that is so well structured at all levels, comes knocking, you don’t refuse.”
Kompany, who made his name as a coach of real potential with Manchester City’s youngsters before a spell in Belgium with Anderlecht, guided Burnley to the Championship title in 2023. The Clarets racked up a staggering 101 points along the way.
And it’s testament to Kompany’s coaching that Ian Maatsen – in the space of just one year – went from England’s second tier to a Champions League final clash with Real Madrid at Wembley.
Manchester City legend hired by Bayern Munich
“Chelsea especially saw the good work of Vincent with left-back Ian Maatsen at Burnley,” Kompany Sr says of Borussia Dortmund’s Stamford Bridge loanee.
“After his loan from Chelsea to Burnley, he became a regular in Chelsea’s first-team at the start of this season. Now, the boy has played in the Champions League final with Dortmund. And, in the meantime, Chelsea are asking for 40 million for him.
“At Bayern, you talk to former players who know what they want. It is up to you to convince them of your vision,” Pierre adds. “Vincent succeeded in this.
“You don’t become a trainer just because you want to (be one).”
HITC understands that former Switzerland midfielder Raphael Wicky is an option to replace Kompany at Burnley. Frank Lampard has also been linked.
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