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Rob Dawson, Correspondent
Bayern Munich and Burnley are close to reaching an agreement for manager Vincent Kompany, a source has told ESPN.
Bayern have turned to Kompany, who is a fluent German speaker and spent two years playing for Hamburg in the Bundesliga, after a chaotic search for a new head coach as they look to replace Thomas Tuchel.
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A string of rejections from Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann and Ralf Rangnick, among others, have led the Bundesliga side to the 38-year-old Belgian.
Bayern, according to a source, believe Kompany is keen to join the club if a deal is reached with Burnley. They would also be willing to allow members of Kompany’s backroom staff, including former Wales forward Craig Bellamy, to join him in Munich.
Burnley appointed Kompany in 2022 after a spell in charge of Belgian Pro League side Anderlecht. He led Burnley to the Championship title in his first season, they finished on 101 points. They came 19th on their return to the Premier League and will be back in the Championship next season.
Kompany was linked with jobs at Chelsea and Tottenham last summer, but eventually stayed at Turf Moor.
Pep Guardiola has also tipped the former Belgium international defender for a job at Manchester City in the future. Kompany spent 11 years as a player at the Etihad Stadium, winning 10 major honours including four Premier League titles.
He left to join Anderlecht, initially as player-manager, in 2019.
Kompany is set to take over at Bayern following their worst season in more than a decade. They finished third in the Bundesliga behind champions Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart, their worst league performance since 2011.
Bayern also finished the season without any silverware after losing out in a narrow Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid.
The club announced in February that Tuchel would leave his position at the end of the season. A thawing of relations between Tuchel and Bayern led to talks to reverse the decision earlier this month, but after negotiations collapsed Bayern turned their attention to Kompany. Burnley will be due compensation with Kompany under contract until 2028.