Neymar 'opens talks' with Premier League giants

Carlo Garganese

• 7 Jun 2023 16:48 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea have opened talks to sign PSG superstar Neymar, according to Le10sport.

Manchester United are already in negotiations over a move for the Brazil attacker, but the French media are now reporting that Chelsea are fighting them for the 31-year-old.

This has come as a request from Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, who worked with Neymar while he was coach of PSG.

READ MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals

Talks are still in their infancy but Chelsea are said to be serious about wanting to sign the World Cup star.

It is understood that PSG have placed Neymar on the transfer list and wish to offload him in the summer.

The Parisians are unhappy with Neymar’s performances on the pitch, as well as the circus he often brings off it as well.

As a result, Neymar has been heavily linked with a summer transfer to the Premier League - probably the only major league whose teams can afford the Brazilian’s salary.

As well as Chelsea and Man Utd, Newcastle have also been linked with the former Barcelona star.

PSG have been very active in the summer transfer market, already clinching deals for Milan Skriniar and Marco Asensio on free transfers and Manuel Ugarte from Sporting Lisbon for €60 million.

The Parisians have also sacked coach Christophe Galtier and will release Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos on free transfers.

They plan to remove who they see as the primadonnas from their squad, and it is their wish to sell Neymar before the start of the 2023-24 season.

Neymar’s career at PSG

Neymar smashed the world transfer record when PSG paid his €222 million release clause in the summer of 2017 to buy him from Barcelona.

The Brazilian moved to Paris hoping to escape Lionel Messi’s shadow in order to become the best player in the world.

However, the now-31-year-old has failed to live up to his price-tag and has been plagued by injuries and declining form over recent years. He has still managed 118 goals in 173 appearances, as well as a host of domestic trophies.

MORE: Messi, Tielemans, De Gea and the best players available on free transfers this summer