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By Andy West
Spanish soccer writer
Transfer deadline day gone in Britain might have been, but in most countries it remains open until Monday plus a few deals could be struck.
Most of the motions are very likely to take place in Spain’s La Liga months.
The biggest story, clearly, has been the uncertainty over the future of a certain Brazilian superstar…
By far the most high profile, protracted and expensive move of the summer would be the yield of Neymar into Barcelona from Paris St Germain.
On its face, the move should be simple: Neymar would like to join Barca, PSG need out him and Barca need him. However, boardroom machinations deep enough to create Brexit seem like a playground squabble over hopscotch beset the deal, so it has been quite difficult to get over the finishing line.
A complication is that Barca do not have sufficient money, they even had to carry a bank loan to finish the signing of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid earlier in the summertime. The Catalan club have been attempting to conjure up alternatives, like even a loan agreement or a player-exchange but PSG has accepted not one of them.
The French club rejected the latest offer after two weeks of talks of Barca this week, also reports on Saturday asserted that Neymar has given up on sealing the move regardless of the clubs. But given the shady nature of this deal, that may be no more than a second outbreak of head games. Until the bell has sounded, it is probably safest to not believe anything.
Thinking about the sky-high cost along with the way of his departure from the Camp Nou it’s not surprising that Neymar return to the club has been met with a fair amount of opposition.
Former Barca director Toni Freixa summed up the emptiness by tweeting:”We are jeopardising the club financial sustainability. I really don’t know what interests are at stake, but people of Barcelona surely aren’t.”
But president Josep Maria Bartomeu seems to be ready to forgive Neymar and forget all of the fuss his death caused a couple of years back, so one of the most breathtaking transfers in football history may still occur in recent days.
Nevertheless, an ever more popular conspiracy theory – voiced by former France international Frank Leboeuf among other people – asserts Barca have no intention at all finishing the deal and so are actually committing Neymar an elaborate type of punishment because of his earlier treachery, with the added incentive of compacted along PSG for a month or two.
Surely not…?
The key to completing the Neymar deal might be if one or more of Barca’s present stars agree to proceed to Paris in return, and also within the duration of summer practically half of the Camp Nou squad have been connected with PSG as a portion of the trade.
Right-back Nelson Semedo, central defender Samuel Umtiti and former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho (who ended up linking Bayern Munich on loan) are one of people who were allegedly provided or asked as pawns without understanding being reached.
Another name thrown to the hat is Ivan Rakitic. And suspicion is actuated by the fact that though the expert Croatian midfielder was almost ever-present over the past few decades (only Lionel Messi has started more league games since manager Ernesto Valverde arrived at 2017), that he was left on the seat for the first few matches of the new campaign.
Together with Rakitic, Barca might be prepared to part with flying French winger Ousmane Dembele, that has been no more than a partial success because coming as a big-money replacement for Neymar out of Borussia Dortmund (where he had been managed by present PSG coach Thomas Tuchel).
Dembele has shown flashes of his huge talent throughout his period in the Camp Nou however he’s also tested Valverde’s patience by regularly suffering injuries amid reports of personal indiscipline – it should be said, though, that Dembele has played more games for his club (66) compared to Neymar (58) from the last two seasons, so the’accident prone’ label can’t be rather used as a decisive factor against the Frenchman.
Midfielder Arthur Melo – by Valverde much this season, overlooked – and young center Jean Clair Todibo have been touted as PSG recruits that were potential. There is every possibility that Neymar’s proceed to Barcelona will happen if a minumum of one participant heads in the opposite direction.
Real Madrid have been consistently linked with the president Florentino Perez of the Bernabeu club summer time, with a swoop for Neymar a long-term admirer of the match-winning abilities of the Brazilian star together with his firm power from the pitch.
On the other hand, the coming of Eden Hazard along with the failure to dispense with Gareth Bale or James Rodriguez means that Zinedine Zidane’s team is currently amply stocked with winger/forwards, and speculation regarding Real snatching Neymar away from Barca has died down on the last few days.
That does not mean Real have definitely concluded their business for the summer though, because an addition to the center of midfield is very much on the agenda for Zidane, who quipped on Saturday that his club could burst a”bomb, or even 2 bombs” until the window closes.
Over the last 12 months the team have allowed the departures of both Mateo Kovacic (to Chelsea), Dani Ceballos (Arsenal) and Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid) without making any significant additions in the middle of the pitch, leaving inexperienced Uruguayan Fede Valverde as the sole alternative to this long-serving trio of Luka Modric (who’ll turn 34 next month), Toni Kroos and Casemiro.
It is no secret that Paul Pogba continues to be Zidane’s number one target ever since he returned into the Bernabeu six months before, and the trainer has been left frustrated by his club’s failure to generate progress with Manchester United on his compatriot.
Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen and Ajax star Donny van de Beek are another leading options, also Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon continues to be linked, however Pogba stays Zidane’s favoured selection and it would be unwise to completely rule out improvements before Monday’s deadline.
Zidane won’t need to venture in his disposal into the campaign with just four midfielders, so it would be more surprising if Real do not sign a person. The issue is if United can be persuaded into striking a bargain.
La Liga’s early pace-setters, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, are both looking to boost their departments that are striking before the deadline of Monday.
Atletico have come close to registering all-action Spain Rodrigo Moreno using a 65 million swoop progressing much sufficient for Rodrigo to begin saying his farewells about the dawn of this new season.
But AC Milan’s bid for Atletico forwards Angel Correa – which would have financed the deal – fell through at the last minute, therefore Rodrigo has stayed in Valencia for now. Milan’s move for Correa may be reignited which could pave the way for Rodrigo to complete his transfer.
Consequently, the income from that transfer could see Valencia finalise a deal with Barcelona for midfielder Rafinha, although the Mestalla club are currently searching for a cut-price right-back following a long-term injury to beginner Cristiano Piccini.
Along with Atletico the only other team in La Liga to acquire their opening two games is Sevilla, where there has already been a summer of frenzied action after the recurrence of iconic director of soccer Monchi led to no less than 12 brand new signings – and they aren’t finished yet.
The Andalusians waved goodbye to 3 strikers throughout the off-season, with Wissam Ben Yedder, Andre Silva and Luis Muriel all departing, and West Ham striker Javier’Chicharito’ Hernandez was lined up to support Dutch goal guy Luuk de Jong, a summer arrival from PSV.
The other striker who could be on the move – perhaps even to Sevilla when the Chicharito deal drops – is Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz, who scored 21 goals for Lyon at the 2017/18 season but is undesirable by Zidane and will be available for approximately 20 million euros on deadline day.
These transfers , however, are being abandoned to the shadows cast by the summer’s really major story : will there be an additional twist in the Neymar saga?
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