Who is Ipswich Town target Sandro Wagner?
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After Kieran McKenna’s resignation, newly promoted Ipswich Town are on the search for a new manager. On that list, according to a report by Sky Germany, is former Augsburg head coach Sandro Wagner.
What is Sandro Wagner’s coaching style
Starting his tenure with a 3-1 victory at Freiburg, Sandro Wagner’s coaching style was a breath of fresh air for Augsburg fans. High intensity and playing with a purpose, his coaching style has been heavily influenced by Julian Nagelsmann, whom he worked under with the German national team.
A preference to play a 3-4-2-1, Wagner likes to play with two 10s. At Augsburg, it was Mert Kömür and Elias Saad – two technical players who like to play direct football. Clinical on the counter-attack, Augsburg scored three goals from three shots on target, a trait unbeknownst to Die Fuggerstädter followers.
Who is Sandro Wagner?
Born in Munich, Wagner was somewhat a late bloomer during his playing career. Featuring heavily for Hertha Berlin between 2012 and 2015, it wasn’t until his departure for then newly promoted Darmstadt in 2015/16 that Wagner became prolific, scoring 14 goals in 32 Bundesliga games, helping the Hessen club remain in the division. From then, he moved to Hoffenheim, where he struck 15 goals in 42 league games across 18 months which earned him a call up to the German national team at 29 years old before a switch to Bayern Munich at 30 in the second half of the 2017/18 campaign.
Upon his arrival at the Allianz Arena, Wagner scored eight goals in 14 Bundesliga games but he managed just 139 minutes across seven games in 2018/19 before a switch to the Chinese Super League in 2019, where he scored 12 goals in 26 games with Tianjin Teda before his retirement from professional football.
After hanging up his boots, Wagner worked with the DFB as a coach before spending two months as Unterhaching’s U19 head coach. He then coached the first team between 2021 and 2023, averaging 1.96 Points Per Game in the Regionalliga (fourth tier) before returning to the DFB, where he worked under Julian Nagelsmann as an assistant for 23 games.
After announcing his departure from the DFB to pursue a head coaching role in top flight football, Wagner received nothing but praise from his colleagues. “Sandro has brought his full energy to the DFB from the very beginning and has developed enormously in his collaboration with Julian Nagelsmann,” explained DFB sporting director Rudi Völler. Nagelsmann added: “Sandro has enriched our team with his expertise and as a person.”
Wagner was appointed as Augsburg head coach in the summer of 2025 but won just three of his 12 Bundesliga games, drawing one and losing eight while being eliminated by 2. Bundesliga side Bochum in the DFB Pokal second round.
A 3-0 loss against Hoffenheim, their ninth defeat of 2025/26, left Augsburg just two points above the promotion/relegation play-off, which forced Augsburg’s hand, dismissing Wagner in December 2025.
