Massimiliano Allegri Lined Up to Replace Thomas Tuchel at PSG After Champions League Loss

Reports are circulating in Italy that Thomas Tuchel may be facing a premature exit from Paris Saint-Germain after falling short in the Champions League final on Sunday night. Former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri is lined up as an immediate replacement, though there is expected to be competition from Inter for the Italian.

Prior to last season, Paris had only ever gone as far as the quarter-finals of the tournament, which was a source of frustration for the club's ambitious owners. They have improved steadily since appointing Tuchel in 2018, however, and the German took them further than ever in Europe's elite club competition.

Conquering Bayern in Lisbon proved a step too far, and the reaction to that 1-0 defeat, which came about after former PSG academy player Kingsley Coman headed in the winner, has been one of anger and despondence. Several players were seen in tears, while reports stemming from Gianluca Di Marzio in Italy have suggested that failure to take the final step in Europe has PSG's owners considering Tuchel's future.

RMC Sport's Johan Crochet summarises an interview Di Marzio gave Sky Sport Italia, in which he claims it could be the 'end of the adventure' for the current PSG boss. He notes that Allegri is the plan A in this event, but does suggest that this information comes from employees at the club, who may not be at their most reliable in the wake of such a heart-wrenching defeat.

News of Tuchel being ousted with Allegri arriving in the French capital is nothing new. Ahead of PSG's quarter-final tie with Atalanta, Football Italia claimed that such a move was under consideration if they failed to reach the semi-finals. Obviously, they went one better than that - but it still seems that Tuchel's head is very much on the chopping block.

Competition is rife for Allegri, meanwhile, who Di Marzio claims is expecting an offer from defeated Europa League finalists Inter. Having not worked since leaving Juventus last summer, it's unclear if Allegri would prefer to stay in Italy or head to France, where he would be given extensive resources to help the club take the final step in Europe.

Tuchel has put together a team who look genuinely capable of taking that step in the foreseeable future, so to replace him now with a manager who has never won the Champions League himself would raise huge question marks over the long-term strategy in Paris. On the other hand, long-term planning has never seemed to be their strong suit.