Tuchel on the cusp of PSG deal

The German website 'SportBuzzer' reports that the 44-year-old Bavarian has already signed a two-year contract.

In France, the sports daily 'L'Equipe' quibbled over the details, saying it is "premature to say the deal is signed" but "it's only a question of timing", probably at the end of the season.

Emery appears to be merely biding his time in the PSG hotseat after the crushing elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid.

Tuchel's modest playing career peaked early with a handful of matches for Stuttgart Kickers in the German second division in 1992-93.

He went on to coach Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, winning the German Cup after succeeding the highly successful Jurgen Klopp.

Tuchel was recommended to the camp of emir Tamim ben Hamad al Thani by the Qatari consul to Germany, 'L'Equipe' reported. He would be the first German to lead PSG.

Tuchel has been without a club since his tumultuous departure from Dortmund in May 2017 after a series of public disagreements with the club's chief executive.

Bayern Munich tapped up Tuchel recently as a possible successor to 72-year-old Jupp Heynckes, who insists he will not stay. But Tuchel "was already signed with a club," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Tuchel is famed for his passion for tactics. Niko Kovac, who manages Eintracht Frankfurt, the losing team in last year's German Cup final, called Tuchel a "chorus master" and praised his "genius for playing different systems week after week."

Tuchel also has a reputation for man management, especially with younger players, and attracted attention at Dortmund for the spectacular way he developed such rising stars as Ousmane Dembele, now at Barcelona, US international Christian Pulisic and Julian Weigl. But Tuchel reportedly had difficulties with veteran players he wanted to phase out.

This profile as a tactician and demanding, even authoritarian, coach calls to mind Pep Guardiola who works at Manchester City for the Emiratis, the great regional rivals of the Qataris, and is poised to add the Premier League title to his collection of titles.