Bayern Munich 'fighting to KEEP Thomas Tuchel' despite announcing his planned exit in February... with the German giants struggling in their attempts to find a replacement

Bayern Munich are reportedly trying to reach an agreement with Thomas Tuchel to keep him as their manager.

It was announced back in February that the former Chelsea boss would leave at the end of the season.

It has been a tough campaign for the Bundesliga giants, who have missed out on the domestic title for the first time in 12 years and were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals by Real Madrid.

Finding a replacement has surprisingly proven difficult for Bayern, with Xabi Alonso staying at Bayer Leverkusen, former boss Julian Nagelsmann remaining with the German national team, and ex-Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has also reportedly turned them down.

The Guardian have now reported that Bayern are pushing to keep Tuchel, with options running out. 

The news would please a number of Bayern Munich fans, who started a petition in their attempts to force the club to renege on their decision to sack Tuchel.

He was handed his marching orders in February, after only replacing Nagelsmann last season.

Tuchel dramatically led Bayern to the title on the final day of last season over Borussia Dortmund, but were well off the pace of Bayer Leverkusen this time around. 

The petition from fans to keep Tuchel has so far obtained over 20,000 signatures on Change.org. 

'Even though this topic is good for me when they [the fans] wish you to stay, it's not something that is a priority,' Tuchel said, speaking prior to Bayern's game against Frankfurt last month.

'It isn't allowed to be a priority. In the next 11 days it's only about football, nothing else. Whether it's pleasant or unpleasant, I don't allow myself to be influenced by it.' 

After the defeat to Real Madrid, Tuchel said it would be unlikely that he would stay at the club.

He said: 'It's very, very, very unlikely that it's at Bayern, I have to say,' he told TNT Sports.

'We have an agreement, there is at the moment no reason to doubt this agreement. We took this position, the initiative came from the club, and so it is and I'm fine with it.'

ESPN have reported that a number of Bayern players would prefer Tuchel to stay.

German internationals Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer, as well as English pair Harry Kane and Eric Dier, are said to be in support of Tuchel staying. 

CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said in a statement when Tuchel's departure was first announced: "In a good, open discussion, we came to the decision to end our working relationship by mutual agreement in the summer. Our goal is to pursue a new footballing direction with a new head coach for the 2024-25 season.'

If Tuchel is available, he could potentially be a contender for the Manchester United job, if the Red Devils decide to part ways with current boss Erik ten Hag. 

Former Bayern manager Hansi Flick, Ten Hag and Roberto De Zerbi are among other names to be linked with the job at the Allianz Arena.