Thomas Tuchel has been sacked by Paris Saint-Germain and is set to be replaced by Mauricio Pochettino, with a meeting with the former Tottenham boss planned for today.
Pochettino has already spoken to PSG chiefs about succeeding Tuchel, who was revealed to have been sacked on Wednesday night, just hours after overseeing PSG’s 4-0 win over Racing Strasbourg.
According to Sky Germany, PSG’s sporting director Leonardo sacked the 47-year-old after the club’s emphatic win at the Parc des Princes, which came four months after Tuchel led the Parisian outfit to the Champions League final.
The French club are yet to confirm the German’s dismissal.
Pochettino has been without a club since parting company with Tottenham last year and is being lined up to make a return to the club where he featured as a player.
Pochettino has been linked with the other top managerial positions across the continent with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United all being linked with the 48-year-old in the past year. However, he has been biding his time for the perfect project.
Pochettino recently said: ‘I have always said that one day it would be a pleasure to manage a big club like Paris, a dream.
‘I try to watch all of their games, especially in the Champions League and sometimes I speak with [Paris Saint-Germain assistant coach] Jean-Louis Gasset.’
While PSG haven’t quite dominated Ligue 1 like in previous years, Tuchel managed to come out on top in their awkward Champions League group, which contained RB Leipzig and Manchester United.
However, Wednesday night’s game against Strasbourg proved to be Tuchel’s last, where he was told his services were no longer needed.
It was also PSG’s last game before the league’s three-week winter break, which will see them return on January 6 to face Saint Etienne.
Tuchel criticised his position as PSG boss on Wednesday, where he claimed he felt like a ‘politician’ at the club.
Tuchel told Sport 1: ‘To be completely honest, during the first six months, I said to myself: “Am I still a manager or am I a politician in sport, a Minister for Sports?” In a club like this, it is not always just about football.’
Tuchel has endured a difficult start to his third season in charge and saw him lose ground in the title race having lost four in 11 games this season.
It left the French champions playing catch-up to Lyon and Lille, who had both lost just one game this season. PSG are currently third in the table and are just a point off top spot and boast the best goal difference in the league.
In his three years at the club, Tuchel won back-to-back Ligue 1 titles, the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and the Trophee des Champions twice.
He took charge of 127 games and won 95 of those, giving him an impressive 74 per cent winning average as boss.