Tuchel admits concerns over PSG swoop for Chelsea target

PSG manager Thomas Tuchel admits he is growing increasingly agitated by his side’s failure to complete the signing of midfielder Leandro Paredes from Zenit St Petersburg.

Chelsea were thought to have targeted the Argentina midfielder earlier in the window after boss Maurizio Sarri identified him as a replacement for Cesc Fabregas.

But a move to PSG is imminent after they agreed a fee – believed to be €36m – with the Russian side.

However, despite agreeing terms last week, the deal is still to be finalised – and Tuchel appears to getting concerned.

The PSG coach joked: “I’ve been waiting for a few days, but he’s not here. I looked for him in the showers, in the cloakroom, in the physio room, with the goalkeepers, but he is not there.”

Tuchel, though, accepted the clock was ticking on the potential big-money move.

“Everyone told me, ‘it is done’, but he’s not here,” the German added at a press conference.

“It’s the 27th (of January) and I’m worried. We’re running out of time.

“We’ve been waiting for Leandro for a few days and he’s not here. He’s not in the locker room and that’s the reality.”

 

PSG, meanwhile, look increasingly unlikely to be without Neymar for their Champions League clash with Manchester United next month after an X-ray revealed some worrying news.