Laurent Blanc to become new PSG coach - report

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly reached an agreement with Laurent Blanc to become the new manager of the French Ligue 1 champions, according to a post on the BeInSport Twitter account, a TV channel belonging to the club’s Qatari owners.

“Exclusive information: agreement reached today (Friday) with Laurent Blanc who will become coach of Paris SG,” indicated BeInSport, adding that a two-year deal was expected to be finalised at the start of next week.

Blanc, 45, had been out of a job since leaving his role in charge of the French national team following their disappointing quarter-final exit at Euro 2012.

The former defender’s only other professional coaching experience came at Bordeaux, where he was in charge from 2007 to 2010 and led the club to the league title in 2009.

Current boss Carlo Ancelotti, a target for Spanish giants Real Madrid, said in May that he wanted to leave the French champions after 18 months at the helm.

Following Ancelotti’s plea to leave, PSG have seen a host of potential successors such as Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) and Rafael Benitez (Napoli) join other clubs, while a move for Russia national team boss Fabio Capello also fell through.

Blanc had also been linked with Roma before the Serie A side elected to appoint former Lille boss Rudi Garcia.