American Marsch to succeed Nagelsmann as Leipzig coach – reports

Salzburg’s American coach Jesse Marsch has agreed terms to succeed Bayern Munich-bound Julian Nagelsmann at Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, German media reported Wednesday.

Wisconsin-born Marsch, 47, had “turned down Tottenham Hotspur and decided to move to Leipzig”, according to German football magazine Kicker. 

The country’s most widely read newspaper Bild also claimed that Marsch had reached “an agreement in principle” with Leipzig director Oliver Mintzlaff.

A former assistant coach of the US men’s national team, Marsch has long been a rising star within Red Bull’s sprawling global football network.

The Leipzig job would be his third in charge of a Red-Bull backed club, following a three-year spell at the helm of New York Red Bulls and two years in the Salzburg dugout. 

Marsch also previously worked at RB Leipzig as assistant coach to Ralf Rangnick in the 2018-19 season, helping the club to a German Cup final and top-three finish in the Bundesliga. 

He then moved to Salzburg, winning the Austrian league and cup double in his first season as head coach. 

At Leipzig, Marsch would replace 33-year-old German coaching prodigy Julian Nagelsmann, who was announced as the next Bayern Munich coach on Tuesday. 

Bayern reportedly paid a fee of up to 30 million euros (36 million dollars) to secure Nagelsmann as a replacement for Hansi Flick, who will leave Munich after this season. 

The move completes a meteoric rise for Nagelsmann, who will turn 34 in July and is younger than Bayern club captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.