Alexander Nübel with a change of heart towards Bayern Munich after sacking of Toni Tapalovic

In the goalkeeping depart at Bayern Munich, so much happened in such a short window of time during the January transfer window. They finally secured an ample Manuel Neuer replacement in Borussia Monchengladbach’s and Switzerland’s Yann Sommer, they sacked former goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic, and Neuer gave a lengthy interview with The Athletic where he publicly spoke ill of the club’s dismissal of Tapalovic. It had been well known that Neuer had an incredibly close relationship with Tapalovic both on and off the pitch, but there were a handful of reasons why Julian Nagelsmann and the rest of Bayern’s hierarchy felt it was the right decision to relieve him of his duties.

Alexander Nübel was one of the first options considered after the news of Neuer’s leg break surfaced. Bayern knew he’d be missing the remainder of the season and felt a viable option would be to recall Nübel from his loan spell with AS Monaco in Ligue 1, but the keeper made it clear he did not want to entertain that option. After all, why would he want to give up the starting gig at Monaco while they’re well poised to qualify for a Champions League spot in the French top flight. Not to mention, they just beat Paris Saint-Germain right before Bayern did in the Champions League.

As it had later come out, part of the reason Nübel wasn’t interested in going back to Bayern was because of Tapalovic. He’d said that he had felt ignored by the goalkeeping coach and that he showed far too much favoritism and attention to Neuer. This added to the frustration he already had due to the fact that he came nowhere close to making the amount of appearances for Bayern that his contract when he signed from Schalke 04 had outlined. However, now that Tapalovic is out of the picture, it seems that the keeper has had a bit of a change of heart.

Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images

Per new information from Abendzeitung’s Maximilian Koch (as per @iMiaSanMia), Nübel could now see a potential future at Bayern now that Tapalovic is out of the picture. Unlike how he felt about the former goalkeeping coach, he knows that the new coach, Michael Rechner appreciates the qualities he possesses as a keeper, which could, in theory, help him change his mind about coming back to Bayern.

Of course, Neuer and his camp are still adamant that he will be back fully fit on time for Bayern’s summer preseason set to start in July, so he’ll already be facing a battle with Sommer to regain the number one spot in goal. This is something Sommer was well aware of when he made the decision to leave ‘Gladbach for Bayern and was totally accepting of, but Nübel would also have to accept that fact. Would he be willing to fight with the other two keepers for a starter’s role? The answer to that question remains to be seen, but it’s at least slightly more likely now that he doesn’t have to worry about Tapalovic.