By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Jan Siewert will most likely be the next surprise from Germany soon coaching an English football side. According to media reports, the 36-year-old coach of the U-23 juniors of Borussia Dortmund is going to replace 47-year-old German David Wagner at the Premier League bottoms Huddersfield Town.
Michael Zorc, sports director of Dortmund's pro team, has confirmed the bid of Huddersfield for Siewert. "I can confirm negotiations, but the deal isn't done yet," Zorc commented.
It is an open secret that Dortmund isn't going to spoil the excellent opportunity for its promising young coach.
According to a media report, Huddersfield has agreed on a 300,000-euro deal for Siewert who has a valid contract with Borussia running until 2020.
Wagner joined Huddersfield in November 2015 with the club struggling in the Championship (second tier of English football), helped them promote to the Premier League in 2017 and kept them in the top-flight last season.
Wagner left by mutual consent on Monday after a run of nine games without a win, eight points away from Premier League safety.
But why do English clubs count on German coaches, most of whom have a Dortmund related past?
Aside of 2012 German Champion Juergen Klopp, currently riding the wave with Liverpool in the Premier League, Wagner used to be one of the Blacks and Yellow's talent coaches, and Daniel Farke is also working miracles at second division club Norwich City.
Not equally equipped as prominent Premier League sides, smaller but no less ambitious clubs in the United Kingdom try to find a successful strategy to develop. Wagner's and Farke's success seems to encourage Huddersfield to rely on German coaching know-how.
Like the Dortmund dropouts Wagner and Farke is Siewert counting on the strength of a well-based squad rather than on the skills of some key performers. Young German coaches now seem to educate English clubs on the value of the system over the individual.
New Southampton and former RB Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuettl has a similar approach but never worked in Dortmund, which apparently is the source for promising coaching talents.
Siewert took over Dortmund's Juniors in summer 2017. Wagner, a close friend of Klopp, was Dortmund youth coach from 2011 to 2015. Siewert succeeded Norwich boss Daniel Farke as manager of Dortmund's second string.
He had managed Rot-Weiss Essen, who play in the fourth tier in Germany, and had been the assistant manager at Bochum, who are in the second tier.
In May 2018, Siewert rejected an offer of the Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
Huddersfield said there would not be an announcement on Wagner's successor before Sunday's Premier League game with Manchester City.
Now the Terriers seem to have found what they were looking for with 16 games of the season remaining. Will that be enough time to create a new miracle? Huddersfield seems to take a chance on it.
