After two rejections! Eintracht Frankfurt apparently have a clear favourite to succeed Markus Krösche
Eintracht Frankfurt have apparently been turned down twice in their search for a successor to board member for sport Markus Krösche. One favourite now remains.
Frankfurt's leading candidate, former SGE captain Christoph Spycher, now head of sport at BSC Young Boys in Bern, turned down the club on Wednesday morning, according to Sky.
The report also lists Joti Chatzialexiou of 1. FC Nürnberg and Marcel Schäfer of RB Leipzig among the favourites alongside Spycher. But Bild says Schäfer is no longer under consideration, particularly as there has reportedly been no direct contact with the Leipzig official.
That makes Chatzialexiou the frontrunner for Frankfurt's sporting leadership role. Sky reports that Frankfurt have already held talks with the Nürnberg board member for sport. Frankfurt chief executive Axel Hellmann and representatives of the supervisory board reportedly led the discussions.
An agreement would cost Eintracht. They would have to pay Nürnberg a fee in the low single-digit millions, which has been discussed as the price of buying Chatzialexiou out of his existing contract. But when Bild asked, the second-division club denied that SGE had made contact.
Markus Krösche left Eintracht Frankfurt at his own request
Reports suggest a final breakthrough is imminent. Hellmann stressed on Sunday that the club wanted a "quick decision". Eintracht's top priority is to ensure they can act on the tasks ahead and in future transfer windows, when the new man is expected to strengthen the team with targeted signings. Eintracht's supervisory board will approve the appointment shortly.
The need to act stems from Krösche's departure. Frankfurt relieved the 46-year-old of his duties as board member for sport at his own request, granting him immediate release. His contract, originally due to run until 30 June 2028, remains in place in a modified form.
His exit ended an era of more than three years that began in the summer of 2021, with victory in the Europa League in 2022 its crowning achievement. More recently, Krösche had faced criticism both within the club and in the media.
What was Markus Krösche criticised for at Eintracht Frankfurt?
Critics saw his appointment of coach Albert Riera in the previous season as a serious mistake. A sluggish transfer window last summer and reports that he had privately purchased property in Croatia put Krösche under further pressure.
Despite the personnel upheaval, the team had recently shown improving form on the pitch. They beat 1. FC Köln 1-0, lost narrowly 1-0 away to Borussia Dortmund, then beat Hamburger SV 3-1 on Tuesday evening to reach the next cup round.
