Well, nobody saw that coming. Actually, scratch that, plenty of people saw it coming. Julian Nagelsmann has left his post as Germany national team manager, and the name already being whispered loudly around the corridors of the German Football Association is none other than Jürgen Klopp.
Klopp himself confirmed on Friday that he has had discussions with the German federation about stepping into the role. Now that is a story worth talking about. The man had a proper rest after leaving Liverpool last summer, recharged the batteries, and it looks like the itch to manage again got too strong to ignore. You can take the manager out of football, but you clearly cannot take football out of Klopp.
On paper, this makes an enormous amount of sense. Klopp is one of the most respected managers in world football, he understands German football inside out from his years at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, and he brings the kind of energy and identity that national teams absolutely need but rarely have. Germany have looked a bit lost for a while now, and the Euros on home soil last summer gave everyone a temporary lift before the reality check kicked back in.
Nagelsmann was not exactly disgraced in the role. He had his moments and the home tournament brought some genuine excitement. But international management is a strange beast and it did not quite click the way everyone hoped. There are no bad feelings here, just football moving on as it tends to do.
If Klopp does take the job ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Germany will suddenly look like one of the genuinely exciting prospects in the tournament. He has a way of getting players to run through walls for him, and with the talent Germany have coming through right now, that is a combination worth getting excited about.
As a United fan, it slightly pains the writer to say this, but Klopp is simply brilliant at what he does. Germany would be getting one of the best in the business.
Let me know your thoughts.