Chelsea have agreed a compensation deal with Bayern Munich for their highly-rated coach Anthony Barry to move to the Allianz Arena and be part of Thomas Tuchel’s backroom staff at the Bundesliga champions.
Barry, 36, was appointed by Frank Lampard at the start of the 2020/21 season and stayed to work with Tuchel at Stamford Bridge after the club legend was sacked in January 2021.
After four months of working together, Tuchel and Barry won the Champions League with Chelsea.
Telegraph Sports revealed that Chelsea were set for a battle over Barry when Tuchel was appointed at Bayern a month ago, with the former Fleetwood Town midfielder interested in the role with his former boss. The clubs had been discussing a fee for Barry and it is understood there has been a breakthrough.
Barry, who also has a role in the Portugal national team backroom staff, stayed away from the training pitches at Chelsea’s Cobham headquarters while the deal was being thrashed out, which meant he was not involved in the final days of Graham Potter’s short spell at the club, nor could he help caretaker manager Frank Lampard who initially appointed him three years ago.
He will be one of the key assistants to Tuchel, who was sent to the stands during Bayern’s Champions League defeat to Manchester City this week. Barry turned to coaching during his playing career when he was out injured for a period, then continued his work after hanging up his boots.
At the time of Tuchel’s appointment, Chelsea were disappointed that Tuchel made his interest in Barry public during his first press conference. “My coaching staff wasn’t prepared either, so a big thank you to their families for their flexibility. Arno Michels and Zsolt Low, who have been working with me for over 10 years, will be there. We’re hoping to add Anthony Barry, who is currently at Chelsea,” he said.
Tuchel’s appointment at Bayern saw him replace Julian Nagelsmann, who is also on the shortlist of managers Chelsea are considering for their next long-term appointment. He has held face-to-face talks with Chelsea.