Manchester United and Manchester City have reportedly set their sights on Neymar, with the PSG superstar also a summer target for Real Madrid.
According to a report by Spanish publication Don Balon, Neymar is the subject of interest from Manchester United and Manchester City. The Premier League rivals have joined Real Madrid in pursuit of the Brazilian forward , who is open to a move away from PSG in the summer transfer window.
Neymar shocked the entire footballing world when he joined PSG from Barcelona last summer in a world record €222 million deal. At Parc des Princes, the player has come into his own and is now the single most pivotal figure for Les Parisiens, with a fantastic record of 29 goals and 19 assists in 30 outings to boot.
His campaign though, seems to have come to a premature end, with the player now battling to recover from a foot injury in time for the summer’s World Cup. As far as his future at the club level is concerned, the report suggests that Neymar is already prepared to call it quits at PSG, which has brought forth interest from Real Madrid, Manchester United and Manchester City.
At Real Madrid, a summer squad overhaul is in the offing after an underwhelming campaign in the league. In attack, the goals had dried up for large parts of the campaign, with the BBC looking a pale shadow of its domineering pomp.
Among them, Gareth Bale is highly likely to move away from the Bernabeu, having fallen in stature over the course of the season, with Karim Benzema’s future uncertain as well. Neymar is, thus, a viable target for Real Madrid, not just bringing goals to the plate, but also boosting the creativity with his playmaking abilities.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s interest in the player isn’t new, having attempted to sign him before he joined Barcelona. Their continued interest does come as a bit of a surprise though, unless Jose Mourinho plans to use Neymar more centrally, as the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Alexis Sanchez already used on the left flank, where the Brazilian primarily operates from.
Manchester City’s interest in Neymar is a bit perplexing as well, with Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva the current options to play in the wide areas. What goes without saying though, is that the Brazilian’s addition can potentially transform Pep Guardiola’s side into genuine Champions League contenders.
What remains certain, as per the report, is that Neymar is unsettled at PSG, with the Brazilian keen on either moving back to La Liga or join a Premier League club. Real Madrid, Manchester United and Manchester City are, thus, three alluring options in front of him.
The biggest stumbling block for the three sides is the €400 million price tag that PSG will slap on him to offload the player this summer, which could give way to Financial Fair Play complications. While Manchester United and Manchester City are prepared to shell out the amount, Real Madrid are having second thoughts on going ahead with the move.
As far as the player is concerned, Manchester United are at the bottom of the pile, with Real Madrid and Manchester City more tempting projects for him. It now remains to be seen if Neymar indeed moves away from PSG after just one season and if so, which way he heads off to.
