Paris Saint-Germain admire Julian Nagelsmann but won’t necessarily make him a top target if they decide to replace Christophe Galtier as manager, according to Jonathan Johnson.
Writing in his weekly column exclusively for CaughtOffside, the French football expert made it clear that Nagelsmann doesn’t look like quite the right fit for the PSG job, with the Ligue 1 giants possibly already eyeing up their own similar candidate in the form of Thiago Motta.
Motta is a former PSG player and is starting to make a name for himself in management with spells in Serie A with first Spezia and now Bologna, so it could be an easier transition for him to adjust to the culture at the Parc des Princes.
With Nagelsmann a big name currently available, he’ll undoubtedly be tempting for Chelsea as they look for a long-term replacement for Graham Potter, so Blues fans will be relieved to hear that Johnson doesn’t seem to think much of the links with PSG.
“With PSG’s manager situation, I think we will likely be discussing the prospect of Galtier moving on in the very near future. I don’t think it bodes well for him, with what’s been happening in recent weeks on the pitch, and also a lack of clarity from PSG over his future,” Johnson wrote.
“There’s been a lot of talk in France this week about how the next few days being crucial for whether or not Galtier stays on until the end of the season. He’s got Nice away and Lens at home, two difficult games, and it could have a significant say on the title race as well.
“In terms of Nagelsmann and a rumoured approach from PSG, he’s a bright manager and the club will know him well from coming up against him in the Champions League, but I think there’d be a couple of issues with him. Because of his age, he seemed to struggle to a certain extent with the Bayern dressing room, so I don’t see that he’d be better suited to what would be awaiting him in that department at PSG.
“There’s also the cultural consideration as well – he’d have to adapt to life in France and learn a new language, and it’s also worth noting that PSG feel they have a manager of the future of their own who’s in a similar age group in the form of Thiago Motta. T
“he 40-year-old is a former player, he managed their Under-19s, and he’s been linked with the PSG managerial role a couple of times in the past. He previously didn’t really have the experience, but he’s now had a couple of years with Spezia and his current job at Bologna, and there are bigger clubs taking notice of that, so it could be a good time for them to bring him back – he knows how the club works, he has a good relationship with the ownership, so for me Motta would be a better fit than an outsider, for want of a better word, like Nagelsmann.
“That’s not to say Motta is a better coach than Nagelsmann, it’s just that PSG is a specific environment and I think even if it’s changed a bit since Motta left, he’d be better suited to it than Nagelsmann.”