The club's chairman Clemens Toennies told German broadcaster WDR that Schalke officials had met with Kahn on the morning of Thursday, March 19, for initial talks.

"Kahn is a good guy with a huge capacity for work," Toennies said after the three-hour meeting. "We knocked the details off quickly, a concept has been discussed and we have a total agreement.

"We will speak again in two to three weeks again by telephone," added Toennies, who will now consult Schalke's executive committee.

"Schalke are a great club and everyone wants to be here," he added. "We still want to talk to other candidates to treat them fairly."

Also linked to the job are current Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff, ex-Hamburg coach Huub Stevens and current Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath.

Nothing confirmed

Kahn told the Web site of Der Spiegel newsmagazine after the meeting that nothing has been decided.

"It was an interesting exchange of information but there is nothing definitive to report," Kahn said.

"Above all, I want to work with a team," he added. "I would consider that very interesting, but whether one actually takes a role depends on many factors and facets."

Former manager Andreas Mueller parted company with Schalke last week as a result of poor results this season, but Dutch coach Fred Rutten has stayed on.

Mueller, 46, left the club in Gelsenkirchen after almost 21 years as a player and manager. Schalke, third in the league last season, currently lie eighth in the table, 12 points behind leaders Hertha Berlin.

Kahn was capped 86 times by Germany and also made 557 Bundesliga appearances for SC Karlsruhe and Bayern.