Bayer Leverkusen's Coaching Search Intensifies After Filipe Luís Decision
Bayer Leverkusen went hard for Filipe Luís. He was the first choice, the preferred solution, the man Simon Rolfes and Fernando Carro wanted to lead the next phase. Eight titles in three years at Flamengo had turned the former full-back into one of the most coveted young coaches on the market.
Sky now reports that route is closed. Flamengo keep their coach; Leverkusen must pivot.
Inside the BayArena offices, “Options B and C” move from contingency to priority. The club has already been strongly linked with Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and AFC Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, two coaches who have quietly positioned themselves on the summer market by declining contract extensions and freeing themselves from 1 July.
Glasner’s stock soars again
If Glasner was already on the shortlist, Wednesday night will only have sharpened Leverkusen’s focus. In his farewell game with Crystal Palace, the Austrian signed off with another European trophy, adding the Europa Conference League to his Europa League triumph with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022. Palace edged Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the final, and Glasner once again walked away as the architect of a European success story.
That kind of pedigree travels well in boardrooms. A coach who has twice built sides capable of navigating knockout football in Europe fits neatly with Leverkusen’s ambitions to be more than just Bundesliga participants.
Iraola, meanwhile, brings a different profile. His work at Bournemouth has drawn plaudits for intensity, organisation and a clear identity. Both men are available. Both fit the modern, aggressive style Leverkusen have tried to project. The decision now is less about availability and more about direction.
Hjulmand steady, but not spectacular
All of this unfolds against the backdrop of an expected parting of ways with current head coach Kasper Hjulmand. There is no official statement yet, no formal goodbye, but the writing has been on the wall for weeks.
The 54-year-old Dane arrived early in the season, parachuted in after relations between Erik ten Hag and the club hierarchy collapsed at speed. Tensions with sporting management, parts of the coaching staff and sections of the squad left Leverkusen scrambling for stability. Hjulmand supplied that. He calmed the waters.
He did not, however, ignite the club.
Leverkusen missed out on Champions League qualification, fell to Bayern in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals and went out to Arsenal in the Champions League last 16. The league campaign ended in sixth place in the Bundesliga. Respectable, but not transformative. Not for a club that has invested heavily and talks openly about rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite.
On the pitch, the team rarely convinced over 90 minutes. Flashes of quality were undermined by long, flat spells. Several expensive signings never came close to justifying their fees, and the football often felt like a cautious compromise rather than a bold statement. Stability alone does not buy time at this level. Not with 2027 still written on the contract and expectations rising around the club.
So Leverkusen will turn the page. A “fresh start under a new head coach” is no longer a vague idea. It is a plan in motion.
Whether that fresh start carries the imprint of Glasner’s European nous or Iraola’s high-octane pressing will shape the club’s trajectory for years. Leverkusen have chosen their moment. Now they must choose their man.
Monaco pull the trigger as well
Across the continent, AS Monaco are preparing for a similar reset. Sebastien Pocognoli’s tenure, which began in October, is already nearing its end after just over six months in charge.
Monaco’s late-season stumble proved costly. Back-to-back defeats to Lille and Strasbourg, just when the pressure peaked, dragged the club out of European positions. In a league where margins are thin and patience thinner, that run sealed his fate.
Two ambitious clubs, two benches about to be vacated, and a summer market full of restless, high-calibre coaches. The question now is simple: who moves first, and who gets left to pick from what remains?
