Julian Nagelsmann to leave Hoffenheim at end of season

The Bundesliga club announced in a press statement issued on Thursday that head coach Julian Nagelsmann had elected to trigger an escape clause in his contract, which will allow him to leave TSG Hoffenheim at the end of the 2018-19 season.

In the statement, Nagelsmann said that by announcing his intention to leave, he hoped to avoid undue distractions throughout the coming season.

"I owe it to TSG and all of their staff as well as the team and the fans to ensure that this historic season, in which we will be in the Champions League for the first time, is not encumbered by constant speculation about me and my future," Nagelsmann said.

"We regret the decision that Julian has taken," Hoffenheim's managing director, Peter Görlich, said. He added, that he and the club were looking forward to the start of a "remarkable season" in the history of the club.

Youngest Bundesliga coach

The 30-year-old Nagelsmann, who joined Hoffenheim as a youth coach in 2010, became the Bundesliga's youngest-ever bench boss, when, at the age of 28, he took over the Bundesliga side in February of 2016. When he took charge of the team, Hoffenheim were mired in 17th place in the standings, but Nagelsmann saved the club from the drop, before leading it to European qualification the following campaign. This past season, he led Hoffenheim to a third-place finish, qualifying them for the Champions League for the first time.

Headed to Leipzig

While the Hoffenheim statement made no mention of where he might be headed, the mass-circulation daily Bild reported that it had learned that Nagelsmann would move to RB Leipzig next summer, and that his new club would pay the escape clause in his contract worth €5 million ($5.8 million).  

Leipzig have been in the market for a new coach since Ralf Hasenhüttl left the club in mid-May.  There has been, much speculation in recent weeks that sporting director Ralf Rangnick could also serve as head coach for the coming season.