How Paris Saint-Germain Could Line Up Next Season Under Unai Emery

Although nothing has been made official, reports in the Spanish and French media suggest that Unai Emery will soon become the new boss at Paris Saint-Germain.

The Spanish coach has left Sevilla, and the Europa League winners are close to appointing Jorge Sampaoli as the new man at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, as Goal's Harry West noted. It is very unlikely that Emery would have left the club without knowledge that he would be stepping into another job.

It was reported by beIN Sports (h/t AS' Jose Maria Lopez Guerra) that he will arrive in Qatar for talks and will take over from Laurent Blanc this summer. All that remains to be sorted is for the Frenchman’s compensation with the Ligue 1 champions to be agreed, and then Emery will be able to take up the position.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been attracted to Emery due to his success in the Europa League, and although his league performances in Spain haven’t been as successful, that shouldn’t be a problem with the level of competition in Ligue 1 much lower.

The president wants success in Europe and believes Emery has a much better track record in winning competitions in Europe than Blanc. It may be a risk, but it’s one the club seem ready to take.

Blanc’s time at PSG seemed to be on thin ice when they limped out of the Champions League against Manchester City. The performance wasn’t good enough, and the tactics Blanc used in the away leg were risky and failed to pay off. That was the nail in the former Bordeaux coach’s coffin.

Once in charge, Emery will be allowed to put his own stamp on the team, but before that, let’s look at how he may line up with the current PSG squad.

In the Europa League final against Liverpool, Emery used his normal 4-2-3-1, with Kevin Gameiro leading the line.

Using a standard back four, Mariano, who played in Ligue 1 with Bordeaux, is a vibrant attacking right-back, and you can see Serge Aurier excelling in the same position. The Ivorian's role at the club will be interesting now that Blanc is on the way out.

Although the player's behaviour has been terrible, the problems with him and Blanc will no longer be an issue, so if Emery fancies him, his place in the team should be confirmed.

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Thiago Silva will obviously continue in the centre of the defence, but there could be a case for Marquinhos to play as his partner.

Steven N’Zonzi and Grzegorz Krychowiak started 47 games between them last season, and it is likely that a fit and healthy Marco Verratti will play a similar role to the Poland international. Krychowiak didn’t register a single goal or assist in the league, but he picked up six yellow cards—you can already sense the similarities to the Italian maestro.

Verratti will offer more of a creative threat but perhaps wouldn't bring the same defensive presence. That’s where David Luiz comes in. The Brazilian has often been described as a better defensive midfielder than centre-back, and he could be ideal to play a similar role to N’Zonzi.

According to WhoScored.com, the Frenchman made 1.4 tackles per game, 1.5 interceptions and 1.3 clearances during the league campaign. In contrast, David Luiz had 1.2 tackles for PSG, 2.4 interceptions and three clearances per Ligue 1 game.

They played in different positions, but with the PSG defence able to play so high up the pitch, it’s easier to compare. N’Zonzi scored three times and added one assist, with Luiz finding the net once and providing two assists.

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Luiz is good with the ball at his feet and is perhaps a better passer than he is a defender. The push up the park could be a masterstroke if Emery was to implement it.

If Maxwell signs a one-year extension, it is the right move for the club, although, there has to be increased playing time for Layvin Kurzawa next season. Emery used Benoit Tremoulinas in that position with Sevilla, and he could be the ideal man to expand on the Frenchman’s game and see him finally become a starter at the capital club.

Ahead of the defensive midfielders, Emery has enjoyed success down the wings, especially last season.

Yevhen Konoplyanka and Vitolo were the most used players in this position, starting 38 games between them. Jose Antonio Reyes and Michael Krohn-Dehli also played significant minutes.

All four players combined for 12 assists last season, six less than Angel Di Maria's league total for PSG. No one player on the Sevilla team had more than four assists in the league, with the productivity coming from the wide positions or the centre-forward.

Gameiro ended the season with 16 goals and four assists, and it's who fits into his role that will be crucial to the PSG attack.

Unlike Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gameiro is not going to drop deep and look for the ball. Sevilla's game plan is all positioned around finding the Frenchman in dangerous areas inside the box.

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Edinson Cavani Reportedly Agrees to Contract Extension with PSG https://t.co/9aafUMxkHo via @bleacherreport

— JeanEvens Thomas PhD (@nouveliste) June 16, 2016"

With rumours that Edinson Cavani will sign a new deal at the club, per Sky Italia (h/t the Daily Mirror's James Whaling), he could be reborn under Emery's guidance. The Uruguayan's finishing may come under scrutiny, but his movement and intelligence is still superb.

He makes the runs you want a No. 9 to make and knows how to time them well enough to create separation from the centre-backs. Gameiro has made a career out of this, and with reduced defensive responsibilities, Cavani could flourish next season.

There is hope that with confidence and a manager that uses him to his potential, El Matador can rediscover the form that made him a hero at Napoli in Serie A.

Angel Di Maria would likely still play on the right of the attack, given licence to cut inside and cause problems, and then when you have someone like Javier Pastore or Lucas Moura playing through the middle, it opens up space for them and the right-back to exploit down the channels.

PSG’s problem would come on the left. Again, both Pastore and Lucas could play there, but that would leave little in the way of options off the bench.

This team selection would also leave Blaise Matuidi, Thiago Motta and Adrien Rabiot on the bench. Obviously, all three could step into the defensive midfield position—Rabiot especially looks perfectly suited to playing the N’Zonzi role—leaving a fight between Luiz and Marquinhos for the centre-back role.

There will obviously be players coming into the club this summer and perhaps some more moving on, but Emery would step into the job with a number of players able to cover the system he has found great success with for Sevilla.

If he can add quality in a few more positions and strengthen the bench, there would be a new level of excitement at the Parc des Princes next season.