Thomas Tuchel Has Reportedly Fallen Out with Antero Herique over PSG Transfers

Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel has reportedly fallen out with the club's sporting director Antero Henrique.

According to Le Parisien (h/t Matthew Smith of the MailOnline), the German coach is unhappy after the Ligue 1 giants failed to sign a central midfielder in the summer and as a result has not been speaking to Henrique.

It's suggested that club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has found himself in the middle of the spat, as the French champions were unable to secure the signing of N'Golo Kante from Chelsea in the previous window.

As a result, PSG have been left light in central midfield positions at the start of the campaign. Angel Di Maria, primarily a winger, and Marquinhos, who is more comfortable in defence, were shoehorned into this area of the pitch on Tuesday during the 3-2 UEFA Champions League loss to Liverpool.

While the Parisians spent big on forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe last year, they've failed to address the midfield positions following the departure of Blaise Matuidi and retirement of Thiago Motta. Giovani Lo Celso also moved to Real Betis on loan this summer.

It means the only natural senior options they have in the middle are Marco Verratti, Lassana Diarra and Adrien Rabiot, whose contract with the club is set to expire at the end of this season.

Football journalist Muhammad Butt commented on the absence of structure PSG had midfield against Liverpool:

Tuchel may be left frustrated by the makeup of his squad and will feel as though he faces an uphill task winning the Champions League with the personnel he has. 

Talk of a rift between the manager and the sporting director will come as a concern to PSG supporters, too, especially given the circumstances in which Tuchel left former club Borussia Dortmund.

As Smith noted, the manager also fell out of favour with the club hierarchy at the Westfalenstadion, with chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said to have failed to deliver on targets in the transfer market.

Rory Smith of the New York Times feels as though PSG will improve when some key men return, but he isn't sure whether Tuchel is a natural fit for the club at the moment:

Despite the issues PSG have in midfield, it's unlikely to prevent them from dominating the domestic competitions again. They've started Ligue 1 with five wins from five, and the attacking class of Neymar, Mbappe and Edinson Cavani will be far too much for opponents to handle.

However, after such a huge outlay last summer, the Champions League is the competition that will be the priority for the club's hierarchy this season. Based on the evidence of Tuesday night, the midfield options are not sufficient for Tuchel to take this team to European glory yet.