Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi is losing patience with Laurent Blanc and wants the manager to take a tougher line towards the players in his dressing room. The Qatari reportedly feels that Blanc has lost control of the squad and outbreaks of indiscipline are seen as a direct result of the manager’s lack of authority in the dressing room.

PSG are currently trailing league leading Lyon by four points in the Ligue Un standings, but the French side have progressed to the Champions League Round of 16 where they will face-off against Chelsea next month.

After insisting that Blanc’s job was safe following a slow start in September, the understanding is Al-Khelaifi has drawn up a shortlist of possible replacements for the 49-year-old Frenchman with the club targeting Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone as its number one choice.

Simeone has been the target of numerous clubs since engineering a football renaissance in the Spanish capital three years ago. But the Argentine recently pledged his loyalty to the reigning Spanish champions, provided the La Liga club continues to grow. Shortly after that proclamation, Atletico Madrid announced that Chinese businessman Wang Jianlin, owner of the Dalian Wanda Group, invested £35 million into the club in order to acquire 20% ownership of the Spanish side.

Should the PSG president not be able to acquire his number one managerial target, Al-Khelaifi’s next options are Rafa Benitez (Napoli) and Michael Laudrup (who is currently overseeing the Qatari club Lekhwiya Sports).