Toni Tapalovic set to return to Bayern Munich, Michael Rechner to stay

Toni Tapalovic did not leave Bayern Munich on the best of terms. He was sacked by the club back toward the end of January this past season, just after the club had completed the signing of Yann Sommer from Borussia Monchengladbach.

Sommer had absolutely nothing to do with Tapalovic being dismissed, rather it was largely due to squabbles between the goalkeeping coach and former manager Julian Nagelsmann. It was reported that Bayern’s former manager did not like Tapalovic’s reluctance to follow his instructions and Alexander Nubel had also complained about Tapalovic's favoritism towards Manuel Neuer.

In February, just over a month before Nagelsmann was sacked by the club, Bayern brought in Michael Rechner from TSG Hoffenheim to take over for Tapalovic. He had been in charge of Hoffenheim’s goalkeepers ever since 2015 and had spent some time working alongside Nagelsmann.

In the latest twist to this tale of Bayern’s goalkeeping staff, it’s been reported that Tapalovic is set to make his return to Bayern, and that they will also be keeping hold of Rechner, as per Sport Bild’s Christian Falk (via @iMiaSanMia).

Per Falk, the logistics would be such that Tapalovic would mainly be responsible for overseeing Neuer’s return to full fitness and return to action while Rechner would focus more on overseeing the rest of the keepers in the squad; Sommer, Alexander Nubel (before he finds a new club), and Sven Ulreich. There will also be more solutions found once Neuer is back to his full fitness and back to the starting lineup for Bayern, which Thomas Tuchel has made very clear that he’s planning for Neuer to be the number one keeper for the upcoming season.

While it’s not been confirmed in any official capacity, it’s likely that Neuer had at least a little bit to do with this decision from the club, especially now that Oliver Khan and Hasan Salihamidzic are gone — the two had tried to mediate the relationship between Tapalovic and Nagelsmann before the final nail was in the proverbial coffin.

Looking for more insight on the recent transfer coming and goings? Check out our Weekend Warm-up Podcast on Spotify or below for our thoughts on the rumors linking Bayern Munich to Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Juventus’ Federico Chiesa, and a whole lot more: