Chelsea are believed to be in pole position to make a sensational move for Paris Saint Germain star Neymar.
The Brazil international endured a poor season at the Parc des Princes. He was booed by the PSG fans after his side suffered a shocking exit in the Champions League against eventual winners Real Madrid.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino is inches away from the exit and with new sporting director in the shape of Luis Campos, the French champions are heading into a busy summer shake up.
And Neymar’s departure is believed to be on the to do list for Campos as he looks to steer the club in a new direction.
According to some reports, Neymar's wish is to stay in Paris and win the Champions League with PSG.
🗣️ "Neymar has one dream ... to win the Champions League with PSG"
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 23, 2022
Kaveh Solhekol gives an update on Neymar's situation at PSG pic.twitter.com/CjhrSTlr24
Back in 2017, Neymar arrived in Paris in a world record £198 million deal from Barcelona. Signed to be the leading man at the club, Neymar failed to live up to the expectations. He failed to lead the team to the elusive Champions League trophy, they came close in 2020 when they reached the final but lost 1-0 to German giants Bayern Munich.
According to GOAL, Neymar’s attitude and poor form has worried PSG officials and they are looking to move him on. The Brazilian’s relationship with Kylian Mbappe has also taken a turn for the worse in recent times, Mbappe is now the main man at the club after signing a huge new contract last month.
PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi: "Neymar part of the new project or not? We can't speak about this in public as some players will arrive, some players will leave the club. These are private negotiations", tells @marca. ⚠️🇧🇷 #PSG pic.twitter.com/NPrN4L0aN0
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 21, 2022
Neymar moved to PSG to get away from the shadows of Lionel Messi at Barcelona but now finds himself behind both Messi and Mbappe in Paris.
A move to the Premier League is the most likely option for Neymar as other clubs around Europe are suffering from financial difficulties. According to Sky Bet, Chelsea are currently 7/1 favourites to sign the Brazilian.
This isn’t a surprise as Romelu Lukaku is heading to Inter Milan on loan and young striker Armando Broja is also likely to leave the club. This leaves manager Thomas Tuchel with just Kai Havertz and Timo Werner as his forward options.
Chelsea and Inter Milan have reached agreement over a loan move for striker Romelu Lukaku to return to the San Siro 🤝
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) June 22, 2022
Lukaku has agreed to a 30-per-cent pay cut to smooth his exit ✍️
Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid are the closest challengers to Chelsea, both priced at 14/1. Newcastle are also said to be in the race but GOAL reported that Neymar has little interest in moving to the north east.
Other Premier League sides such as Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are outsiders at the moment.
Neymar’s future is up in the air and it remains to be seen where he will be playing come the start of the new season.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Neymar, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe, Football, Premier League, Ligue 1, Champions League
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