Few people have a sharper read on Julian Nagelsmann than the executive who once appointed him and then let him go, and Oliver Kahn’s verdict on a possible move to Manchester United is not an encouragement.
Speaking on the German podcast Triple, der Hagedorn Fußballtalk on RTL and Sky Sport, Kahn framed Old Trafford as the kind of post where ambition and reality rarely meet, as reported by Goal.
“From his point of view, it’s not an easy situation. He isn’t someone with a great deal of experience, particularly when it comes to foreign teams,” Kahn said.
“He has to ask himself: What is my next step? Does it have to be the right one? Or do I immediately associate it with an enormous risk like Manchester United, where essentially every manager in recent years has failed sooner or later?”
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‘Bayern and Germany were already big blows’
Kahn’s caution does not come from a distance. He was the Bayern Munich chief executive who brought Nagelsmann to the Allianz Arena in 2021 and the one still in post when the club dismissed him in March 2023, a decision that stung Nagelsmann publicly for months.
The German coach then rebuilt his standing with Germany, before resigning in July after the national team’s shock elimination from the 2026 World Cup by Paraguay on penalties in Boston.
Kahn said both episodes had left a mark.
“Bayern Munich and the national team were already big blows for him.”
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The 39-year-old has not managed outside Germany, and Kahn kept returning to that gap, according to t-online.
“You really do need to take a close look at where you’re heading,” he said, adding that the story of United’s managers since Alex Ferguson had been a difficult one and that even high-calibre coaches had failed to make headway at the club.
Carrick’s United already drifting
The context is a Manchester United already searching for a floor. Michael Carrick, confirmed as permanent head coach in May 2026 on a deal through 2028, has steered the club to 13th in the Premier League after seven games, with a single win and a 4-1 Champions League defeat away to Como in Italy on October 21 among the recent setbacks.
That is the backdrop against which Nagelsmann’s name has resurfaced on United’s shortlist, and the reason Kahn’s warning carries weight: It is less a hot take than a reading of character from the man who signed, backed and ultimately sacked him.
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Still, Kahn did not close the door.
“If Julian is convinced that he’s the one who can get Manchester United back on the path to success, then he should try.”
United return to Premier League action this weekend with Carrick still in the dugout and no public move for a successor confirmed.
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