A source confirmed to MLSsoccer.com on Thursday afternoon that New York Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch is in talks to leave the team for a role at sister club RB Leipzig.
The Athletic’s Kristian Dyer reported earlier Thursday that Marsch is “in deep discussions” to move from New York to the Bundesliga team. Both teams are owned by Red Bull GmbH.
Leipzig do not currently have a coach in place for the upcoming season following the departure of former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl in May. The team announced two weeks ago that current Hoffenheim manager Julian Nagelsmann will take charge of the team beginning in the 2019-20 season. Both Marsch and Red Bull soccer sporting director Ralf Rangnick have been reported in recent weeks as candidates to become interim head coach of Leipzig.
Dyer reported that Marsch could either become interim head coach at Leipzig or serve as an assistant under Rangnick, but sources familiar with Marsch’s told MLSsoccer.com that they’d be surprised if the 44-year-old left New York for an assistant job.
If Marsch does join Leipzig, a source indicated that current assistant Chris Armas would be his likely replacement in New York. The source said that the Red Bull organization is “very confident” in the abilities of the former US men's national team midfielder, who played with Marsch with the Chicago Fire from 1998-2005 and has served as his assistant since Marsch took the New York job in January 2015.
Marsch has had a successful run with New York, who are currently in second place in the East but who are averaging more points per game than conference- and league-leading Atlanta. The Red Bulls won the 2015 Supporters’ Shield in his first season, have qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in all three of his seasons in charge, advanced to the U.S. Open Cup final last year and made a run to the Concacaf Champions League semifinals early in 2018.
RB Leipzig finished the 2017-18 season in sixth in the Bundesliga and advanced to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League. The club were promoted to the Bundesliga in 2016 and finished second to Bayern Munich in their first season in the top flight.
