Areola Not Buffon Is My No. 1- Tomas Tuchel, PSG Head Coach.

“Yes, yes. The decision is not final, but I told Alphonse Areola that in my opinion, he was in pole position to be No. 1 in the club of his youth. Alphonse comes from the training centre, PSG is his life, it’s everything for him.”- Thomas Tuchel, PSG Head Coach

Gianluigi Buffon is suspended for Paris Saint-Germain’s visit to Anfield on Tuesday night, their first Champions League game of the season. It will save one headache for Thomas Tuchel, the PSG coach, who has come under increasing scrutiny over his plans for the 40-year-old.

While Buffon started the season as the first-choice goalkeeper, he has since surrendered his place to fellow World Cup winner Alphonse Areola. The France international was given extra holidays following his success in Russia over the summer and has since regained his place in the team ahead of Buffon.

It has led to plenty of questions surrounding the ex-Juventus goalkeeper, who did not move to Paris in order to be a reserve. The issue manifested itself during the international break when Tuchel was a guest on French TV station RMC Sport.

Over the course of an enlightening hour of conversation, he discussed everything from his preferred playing style, Kylian Mbappe and his use of Neymar.

Tuchel spoke in German which was then dubbed into French for the audience at home. Although the new coach is proficient in French he decided to use his native language for the in-depth interview. The section in which he discussed the PSG goalkeeping situation has since led to controversy.

When asked by the hosts if he’d made his mind up over his first choice, viewers heard Tuchel say: “Yes, yes. The decision is not final, but I told Alphonse Areola that in my opinion, he was in pole position to be No. 1 in the club of his youth. Alphonse comes from the training centre, PSG is his life, it’s everything for him.”

On that matter, he appears to be unequivocal.

The Genius Media