Former Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart coach Matthias Sammer has turned down the chance to coach Bayer Leverkusen.

Sammer had been expected to succeed Klaus Augenthaler at the BayArena but Sammer has now confirmed that he will not be taking the job.

“It was an honour to receive an offer from Leverkusen, but it’s all a bit too soon after the situation in Stuttgart,” Sammer told Bild.

“First I want to work on my management skills and spend time learning from coaches in England and Spain, as well as visiting Christoph Daum in Istanbul and Louis van Gaal in Alkmaar.”

His decision means that caretaker boss Rudi Voller will stay in charge of the first team until a permanent replacement can be found.