Manchester United are plotting what the Sunday Mirror describes as a “sensational £200m-plus swoop” for Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar.
Rumours have been gathering pace in recent weeks that Neymar intends to quit PSG in the summer. Citing recent reports in the French press, the Mirror says that Real Madrid have been hovering.
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Neymar’s father is thought to have asked super agent Pini Zahavi to organise his son’s transfer to the Champions League finalists as soon as possible. But what could scupper any deal to the Bernabeu is the fee. PSG understandably refuse to countenance selling Neymar for anything less than the sum they paid Barcelona less than 12 months ago.
Step forward United. The Mirror claims that the Red Devils have made it clear they will pay a “world-record fee and match his £30m-a-year wages to bring him to Old Trafford”.
Having recently labelled some of his squad as mentally “weak”, United boss Jose Mourinho has apparently identified Neymar as a player who is tough up top and capable of leading a title charge next season.
Additionally, says the paper, United have a good working relationship with Neymar’s father, who’s said to be a fan of all things Old Trafford. It’s claimed he would “love his son to play for the club one day”.
Asked about the speculation on Sunday evening when he collected the Ligue 1 Player of the Season award, Neymar replied: “My goal now is the World Cup. It is not time to talk about transfers. I am a little tired of it now.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Express says that as soon as United have next Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea out of the way, they will turn their attention to Juventus defender Alex Sandro.
Ironically, the Blues were at one time linked to the Brazilian blocker. But the Express is one of several papers claiming that United are confident they’ll win the race to Sandro’s hand by meeting Juventus’s asking price of £50m.