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Neymar ‘in limbo’ as transfer to Barcelona all depends on one player
NEYMAR is “in limbo” as his desired return to Barcelona all depends on Philippe Coutinho, claims French football expert Jonathan Johnson.
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Neymar is keen on leaving Paris Saint-Germain just two years after joining the Ligue 1 giants.
Barcelona are said to be his preferred destination after leaving the Nou Camp for a world-record transfer fee of £200million in 2017.
However, Barca are not finding it easy to raise funds to re-sign the Brazilian superstar.
Reports claim they are willing to offer cash plus two players to PSG for Neymar.
The player that seems to have the unanimity at the moment for a deal like this is Coutinho
And Johnson says Philippe Coutinho is the key to any deal of that kind happening.
Coutinho has struggled at Barca since he joined the La Liga side from Liverpool in January 2018.
Johnson says PSG may also want right-back Nelson Semedo as part of the deal for Neymar.
“Neymar is in limbo,” Johnson said on Sky Sports News.
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“PSG are waiting for an offer to be put forward from an interested club, notably Barcelona.
“At this moment in time, as Leonardo pointed out, there has been no real change in the situation, no solid offer has been put in front of PSG.
“It seems obvious that Barcelona at this moment are only in a position where they are going to be able to use players as the main bargaining chip to land the Brazilian.
“The player that seems to have the unanimity at the moment for a deal like this is Coutinho.
“He’d be the key chip sort of in any potential deal.
“The other player that I think would make a lot of sense for PSG [is Semedo].
“It’s certainly a position they’re looking to strengthen in since Dani Alves left on a free transfer, so Semedo is somebody else that PSG might be hoping that Barcelona will be willing to sacrifice in order to make this deal possible.”