FOOTBALL
Transfer Gossip! Will Neymar join Chelsea?
In the last two transfer windows, Chelsea have opened their wallets and gone on a spending spree.
They signed Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, Noni Madueke from PSV Eindhoven and Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk to accompany Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech.
However, as per reports, they might be after another wide forward.
Neymar is reportedly ‘on course to leave’ Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season and is interested in coming to England.
So Chelsea are expected to be one of many sides making an approach for the $50 million-rated South American star.
Chelsea are 13th in the Premier League for goals and have failed to score in four of their last five games across the board, so they desperately need to revamp the attack.
The Blues may have stiff competition for Neymar from Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle, however.
A source said, “Neymar is on course to leave PSG this summer. And he could very well be turning up in the Premier League. Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle have all been informed of his possible availability.”
Chelsea are overstocked in his position, but the lack of goal output from Pulisic (1 goal and 1 assist in 16 league games) and Ziyech (0 goals and 1 assist from 12 league games) this season could see one of them moved on.
In fact, Chelsea tried to sell Pulisic in January before bringing in Mudryk.
So it wouldn’t be a shock if the 24-year-old was transfer-listed at the end of the season – he’s not commanding a starting place under Graham Potter and hasn’t been prolific in the last few years.
Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 and has gone on to make 173 appearances in all competitions, scoring 118 goals with 77 assists – averaging a goal or assist every 0.89 games.
This season, the 31-year-old has scored 18 goals and made 17 assists from 29 games, so he’s coming off the back of a prolific campaign in France.
It’s easy to see why so many clubs would want him, but Neymar doesn’t have a good track record for injuries.
The Brazilian international, who is still one of the best players in Europe, missed 16 league games in 2021/22, 20 league games in 2020/21, 23 league games in 2019/20, 21 league games in 2018/19 and 18 league games in 2017/18 – 98/190 matches in total.
So Chelsea have a difficult decision to make. Neymar is contributing more than a goal a game this season and would greatly improve their impotent attack, but can he stay fit for nine months?
However, it appears as though Neymar may have already made a decision on his future and a potential move to west London in the summer.
According to reports from L’Equipe, the Selecao forward is not intending on leaving the French capital when the window opens once again.
His desire is said to be winning the Champions League with PSG, with an idea of seeing out the remainder of his contract – which runs until 2025.
Let’s see how this transfer saga plays out.