Tuchel: I did not ask for Rabiot return

Thomas Tuchel has denied asking for wantaway midfielder Adrien Rabiot to be reinstated into his Paris Saint-Germain squad.

Rabiot has not featured for the Ligue 1 champions since informing the club in December that he did not wish to sign a new contract.

The 23-year-old’s deal expires at the end of this season and he has been heavily linked to Barcelona, while PSG have a shortfall of their own in his position after Marco Verratti suffered an ankle injury.

The signing of Leandro Paredes from Zenit remedied those concerns to an extent, although it was reported Tuchel’s preference was to reintegrate Rabiot.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash at Lyon, Tuchel presented a united front with his club.

“I did not ask for Rabiot’s reinstatement,” he told reporters.

“The situation is the same as in November. The club decided to suspend Adrien.

“I can understand the club and I accept this decision. The situation has not changed.”

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Tuchel went on to praise the signing of Argentina international Paredes.

“I say clearly yes, I am very satisfied,” he said. “I really believe he can be a very important player for us.

“He has the quality, the personality to play for PSG. He has a good vision of the game.

“He can accelerate the game with his quality, make a lot of passes. He can find good positions on the pitch to help others, when we have the ball. This is his strength.”

Verratti remains sidelined alongside left-back Layvin Kurzawa, but Tuchel added the duo may be able to return to training at the start of next week.