Former Manchester United and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is among the favourites to take over at Bayern Munich.

The Bundesliga champions parted company with coach Niko Kovac after 18 months in charge, following a 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

Getty 2 Jose Mourinho has been linked to both Bayern and Arsenal

That defeat left them four points behind leaders Borussia Monchengladbach and brings to an end Kovac’s time at the club, where he won the league and cup double in May – becoming the first ex-player and manager to do so.

Mourinho, 56, has been out of work since being sacked by Man United in December 2018, but has spoken of his desire to return to management sooner rather than later.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, who spent 13 years at Bayern and played under Mourinho at Old Trafford, said he and his former boss regularly spoke about the Bundesliga.

“I can imagine Mourinho in Germany,” he told German broascaster Deutsche Welle.

“I remember he was always asking me about Bayern and the Bundesliga. During our away games, there was always Bundesliga on TV.

“He really knew every single player, even from the smaller teams. He was also learning German.”

AFP or licensors 2 Niko Kovac paid the price for Bayern Munich’s poor run of form in the Bundesliga

It is not the first time Mourinho has been linked with a job Germany, reports last month suggesting he was in contact with Borussia Dortmund.

He is also under serious consideration should the Arsenal position become available, with Unai Emery battling to save his job after a string of disappointing results.