Luis Enrique has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Christophe Galtier as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) head coach.
The Ligue 1 champions have decided to part ways with Christophe Galtier after just one season, despite the Frenchman delivering top-flight and Trophee des Champions success to the club. Galtier left Nice to take charge of Les Parisiens, but he was unable to break their Champions League hoodoo, overseeing a last-16 exit at the hands of Bayern Munich.
L’Equipe reported that after embarking on an extensive search for a replacement, former Spain and Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique has been identified as the number one candidate, and PSG are now close to reaching an agreement with the 53-year-old.
While there are still a few details to be finalised, PSG are confident of getting a deal over the line and are hopeful of announcing Enrique as their new head coach at some point this week.
The Ligue 1 holders had considered several top coaches for the role, including former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann, who was at one stage thought to have been leading the race for the job. Nagelsmann is believed to have held positive talks with PSG chiefs based in Doha, but the German subsequently pulled out of the race after failing to agree on key details with the capital club.
PSG considers Luis Enrique to be the ideal coach as he has experience in the Champions League, a competition he won with Barcelona. His style of play has been key and he would know how to deal with the heavyweights in the dressing room. The Ligue 1 side has decided to accept the conditions that he has asked of them, aware that time is running out with only a few weeks to go before pre-season.
Luis Enrique’s last experience was with the Spain national team, which he led to a Nations League final and the semi-finals of the European Championship. Despite having attracted interest from big clubs, including Napoli and Chelsea, the Gijón native had given himself time to consider offers, with PSG being the most concrete and the one he could end up accepting.
