Where next for Neymar? Ranking PSG star's options as summer transfer rumours swirl

The Brazilian could leave Parc des Princes at the end of the season, as a slew of injuries and off-field problems have jeopardised his starting spot

Two weeks ago, Neymar was stretchered off in PSG's Ligue 1 clash with Lille. It was his fourth ankle injury in four years. And it felt like the end of the road in a PSG shirt.

The forward is a brilliant footballer, a world-class showman, and one of the best to ever play the game. But, for PSG, he's also something of a liability.

At this point, he doesn't make his team markedly better, and his off-field antics are becoming a massive distraction for the Ligue 1 leaders.

Everything points towards a summer exit. The player needs a fresh start, and the club are perhaps better off without him.

But it's not easy to get rid of a footballer of his profile.

At 31, Neymar is coming towards the end of his prime, has two years left on his contract, and makes a whopping €1 million(£960,000/$1.1 million) per week.

He doesn't have a release clause, either, meaning PSG could effectively set their asking price. And it's unlikely that they'll let such a prized asset leave on a cut-rate deal.

Still, under the right circumstances, anything is possible. And whichever team brings him in are still getting a lot.

Neymar's talent is otherworldly, and he's also a proven winner. He would also be a big money-maker off the pitch, with shirt sales and gameday revenue sure to spike by virtue of his signing.

But there are, of course, some problems.

Neymar is, as already mentioned, injury-prone, occasionally problematic in the changing room, and notably egotistical. Getting him to buy into any system would be immensely difficult.

That doesn't mean some major clubs won't be inclined to try, though.

So, who might bring him in, and why? GOAL ranks Neymar's potential destinations…

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    12Real Madrid

    Neymar played for Barca, pretty much a non-starter for any player who might be linked with Real Madrid.

    Besides, Los Blancos have their attention on the potential signature of Jude Bellingham — and might still be in the hunt for Kylian Mbappe.

    So, Neymar to Madrid, then? In a word: never.

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    11Liverpool

    Liverpool's summer transfer window will likely be geared towards the pursuit of Bellingham.

    It is no secret that the reds are at the forefront of the hunt for the Dortmund star — and are guaranteed to have to cough up a massive sum to bring the player in. Even if their Bellingham pursuit fails, Liverpool will look elsewhere for midfielders, or even shoot for centre-back depth before even considering Neymar.

    And is it possible to think of a player less suited to manager Jurgen Klopp? The Reds have certainly changed down from the counter-pressing, incessant-intensity approach of a few years ago, but the manager has built a team that requires effort and fluidity — neither of which Neymar is known for.

    This is not to say Liverpool cannot be an expressive team, but they prefer to be a little more direct than the kind of side in which the Brazilian could thrive.

    And as fun as it would be to see Neymar linking up with the likes of Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah, he's a poor fit at best.

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    10Juventus

    Wouldn't this be fun? Neymar, dribbling around, getting clattered, then dribbling around some more. Cynical opposition coaches like Jose Mourinho instructing their players to do everything to get the centre-forward sent off. Juventus manager Max Allegri, notoriously averse to adventurous tactics, watching as the Neymar chaos unfolds.

    There is an argument that Neymar would make Juventus quite a good team. With Paul Pogba and Adrien Rabiot holding down the midfield (if they can hold on to the latter), Federico Chiesa and Angel Di Maria on either wing, and Dusan Vlahovic up front, Neymar would have a balanced platform in which to operate.

    That Juventus attack will certainly be in the mix for a Champions League spot, with the Brazilian giving the Old Lady just enough of a boost to secure European football.

    However, enticing as the prospect is, such a move is highly unlikely. Juventus, who have already been hit with a 15-point penalty this season, are under investigation for further financial violations, leaving their future uncertain. It turns out that one has to pay quite a bit of money to actually buy players at market value…

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    9Arsenal

    Arsenal's reasons for signing Neymar are largely similar to Liverpool's. Manager Mikel Arteta demands total obedience, a strict adherence to his system, and a certain kind of no-nonsense mentality. It's why Arsenal are on track to win their first league title since 2004.

    Besides, Arteta is content with his current left wing option in Gabriel Martinelli. The 21-year-old has been fantastic this season, and his blend of pace and trickery is ideal for an Arsenal side that thrives on the break. Furthermore, Martinelli recently penned a long-term deal that will keep him at the Emirates until 2027.

    Arsenal have also shown a preference for signing players 25 and under, only breaking their policy for Leandro Trossard and midfield backup Jorginho. They will not, in all likelihood, splash £100m on a 31-year-old to play in a position in which they are already well-stocked.

    The only reason Arsenal are more likely to buy Neymar is they don't have an obvious summer target that will exhaust their transfer budget.

Lauren James was inevitable! Women's Super League winners and losers as Chelsea star returns to haunt Man Utd

The Chelsea attacker helped end her former club's 100 per cent record, while the Blues remain level with Arsenal at the top of the table.

It was always going to happen, wasn't it? Lauren James went back to Manchester United as a Chelsea player this weekend – and, of course, she scored.

That was the Women's Super League's headline fixture on Sunday, but its thunder was stolen by a nine-goal thriller that saw the division's only manager-less team emerge victorious.

Elsewhere, Arsenal extended their record-breaking winning streak and there were also wins on the road for Manchester City and Aston Villa, at Reading and Liverpool respectively, on a day where every away side picked up three points.

As the league action now pauses for the year's final international break, GOAL looks at the winners and losers from this weekend's action…

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    WINNER: Lauren James

    On her return to the stadium where she made her name as one of England's most promising young talents, it just felt inevitable that Lauren James would score this weekend.

    The 21-year-old spent three seasons with Manchester United but left for Chelsea, her childhood club, last summer. In her debut campaign, though, she didn't see many minutes as the club tried to get her "right" after a number of niggles.

    "Lauren had a tough season last year, coming here off the back of a lot of injuries that she had with Manchester United and maybe having to play in certain games when she wasn't 100 per cent fit," the Blues' technical director, Paul Green, said on Friday.

    "[Now], we're really seeing the real Lauren James, the real quality that she's got. We're certainly all excited for what's to come from her in the present and what's to come from her in the future."

    On Sunday, she showed that with a brilliant goal that put Chelsea 2-0 up: a gorgeous side-footed strike from the edge of the box provoking a big celebration from James that saw her kiss the badge in front of the fans that once cheered her name.

    "It was sweet," she said afterwards. "I love Chelsea and I'm trying to do my best for them." She's not doing badly at all.

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    LOSER: Man Utd's defence

    When Manchester United welcomed Chelsea on Sunday, they did so as league leaders, as the only team in the WSL yet to concede a goal.

    The way they threw away that exceptional defensive record, though, in the first game they haven't won in the division this season, was incredibly disappointing.

    Having limited Chelsea's attack for most of the game, Millie Turner – who has been excellent this season – played a terrible ball straight to Sophie Ingle, despite being under no pressure. From there, the Blues showed how effective they are in transition, the midfielder finding Sam Kerr and Kerr, within seconds, finding the back of the net.

    With the second goal equally frustrating from a United perspective, as James strolled into the final third completely unmarked to sweep home Kerr's pass just four minutes after the opener, the hosts were the architects of their own downfall in their first WSL defeat of the season.

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    WINNER: Jordan Nobbs

    It was less than two weeks ago that Jordan Nobbs made her first start of the season for Arsenal but the form she has showcased since has been so good it has earned her a recall to the England squad.

    It started with a breath-taking volley in the Women's Champions League victory over Zurich, then, a few days later, she came off the bench against West Ham and levelled the scores within seconds – setting her team on the way to victory.

    On Sunday, she wasn't actually on the scoresheet, but the performance she put in highlighted the other wonderful qualities she possesses. Sporting the captain's armband, Nobbs was the conductor as the league leaders dominated a struggling Leicester in a 4-0 win, with only Beth Mead creating more chances than her on the day.

    It was a classy display that will have impressed England head coach Sarina Wiegman and, now, the midfielder will hope she gets the minutes to continue this wonderful form over the international break.

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    LOSER: Leicester

    It's been a turbulent week for Leicester. Last Sunday, they lost a huge six-pointer to the only other team in the WSL without a point to their name, Reading, despite leading the match as late as the 89th minute.

    On Thursday, the club announced it had parted ways with Lydia Bedford because of their difficult start to the campaign. Former Everton boss Willie Kirk – appointed director of women's and girls' football earlier this year in what looked like a great move for the Foxes' future – quickly switched his role to take her place.

    His chances of getting off to a winning start were always slim, though, as Leicester welcomed Arsenal, on a league-record win streak, to the King Power.

    As expected, the Gunners cruised to victory. The result compounded a tough few days for a side in real trouble.

    The good news is that the international break is here now. It will give Kirk some much-needed time to work with this group. He'll need to do so quickly, too, before other teams near the bottom start to pull away from Leicester.

Chelsea: Fans react to Ashley Cole performance against Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is largely regarded as one of the best footballers of all-time and his incredible goal record of over 700 throughout his career would suggest he’s got the best out of many an opponent over the course of it.Â

Still, one opponent to have left a mark on the Juventus superstar is a certain Ashley Cole. Indeed, Ronaldo told Coach Mag (via Sky Sports) back in 2016 that the Englishman was one of his toughest opponents and that the former Arsenal ace does ‘not give you a second to breathe’.

Cole – who won pretty much every major trophy available to him as a Blue – was also part of a defence that limited the Portuguese to just one goal (albeit in a Champions League final) in 15 games against the west London giants, per Transfermarkt.

Chelsea’s official Twitter account decided to relive one of the games where Cole marked him ahead of the two sides meeting in the Carabao Cup tomorrow night, and some of the replies from Chelsea fans are brilliant.

Chelsea fans, how much do you miss this battle? Let us know below!

Gyasi's strike, Schlupp's goal and Inaki Williams' assist: What you may have missed on Ghanaians abroad

GOAL recaps the major talking points regarding Ghanaian players in European league action over the weekend

There were goals and assists alike as Ghanaian players stepped into action in the major European leagues over the weekend.

In case you missed out on the big moments, GOAL highlights some of the major talking points.

  • Jamie Leweling and Gideon Jung: Augsburg 2-1 Greuther Furth

    The Germany-born duo ended the Bundesliga season with disappointment as Saturday's 2-1 away defeat to Augsburg saw Greuther Furth relegated from the elite division.

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    Emmanuel Gyasi: Udinese 2-3 Spezia

    The attacker registered his sixth goal of the season as Spezia recorded a surprise 3-2 away win over Udinese in Serie A. And what an important goal it was as the victory confirmed the club's stay in the top flight.

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    Caleb Ekuban and Kelvin Yeboah: Napoli 3-0 Genoa

    Following a 3-0 away loss to Napoli in Serie A on Sunday, the duo and their Genoa side have been confirmed relegated to the second tier.

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    Jeffrey Schlupp: Aston Villa 1-1 Crystal Palace

    A substitute for the final 13 minutes of Crystal Palace's 1-1 draw with Aston villa, the Germany-born was the hero of the day for the visitors as his fourth goal of the season helped snatch a valuable away point in the Premier League on Sunday.

Who did Messi, Modric, Ronaldo & top players & coaches vote for in FIFA's The Best award?

Luka Modric was named the world's best mens player at FIFA's The Best Awards on Monday, but where did each players votes go?

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    Lionel Messi | Argentina captain

    1. Luka Modric
    2. Kylian Mbappe
    3. Cristiano Ronaldo

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    Luka Modric | Croatia captain

    1. Raphael Varane
    2. Cristiano Ronaldo
    3. Antoine Griezmann

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    Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal captain

    1. Raphael Varane
    2. Luka Modric
    3. Antoine Griezmann

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    Harry Kane | England captain

    1. Cristiano Ronaldo
    2. Lionel Messi
    3. Kevin De Bruyne

San Siro, the Etihad and the stadiums Cristiano Ronaldo has never scored in

The legendary striker scored his first goal at Parc des Princes on Tuesday – now just 15 grounds have denied him as a Real Madrid player

  • Stade de Marrakesh

    Marrakesh, Morocco

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    El Arcangel

    Cordoba, Spain

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    San Siro

    Milan, Italy

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    Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps

    Auxerre, France

Birmingham prodigy Jude Bellingham must keep his feet firmly grounded

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Let’s just pump the brakes here.

Whilst Odin Bailey may have got the winner against Middlesbrough a few weeks ago, there is no doubting who the ‘golden boy’ currently is at Birmingham City, and that’s Jude Bellingham.

According to one member of the squad, he’s already starting to look like he could go on to be a success despite making less than ten appearances this season.

Speaking to Birmingham Live, Lee Camp compared the progress that the 16-year-old was making to one of his former teammates, someone that has gone on to have a very long career so far.

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Camp said: “I was at Derby when Tom Huddlestone came out of school at 15 or 16 and went straight into Derby’s first team and had two years there and played 80 odd games. Jude is as good as Tom and may even have a better career than Tom, and Tom’s had a fantastic career.

“His composure and maturity is fantastic. Overall what a fantastic kid. He’s a great guy and he’s fitted into the group well. He’s the captain for his age group with England. There are all these rumours about different clubs. He’s a great lad and comes in and works his socks off every day.”

Whilst Bellingham is clearly making waves at St Andrew’s, it should be worth noting that he is still very much in his infancy as a footballer, and it could be incredibly dangerous talking him up in this way and making comparisons like this.

Whilst those associated with the Blues will want him to go on and have a great career, whether it be with them or another club, it is just worth noting that we need to see if this success is going to be sustained over a period of time before we start projecting what he can do over the course of his career.

He has scored twice already this term but at the age of 16, it’s incredibly important that he keeps his feet grounded and doesn’t get bogged down by the inevitable hype – his club have to help him in all aspects of life.

For every player that was bigged up as a teenager and had success like Wayne Rooney, there will be a Freddy Adu that goes into obscurity, and it’s far too early to judge which way Bellingham’s career is going to go.

Supporters and teammates need to keep their expectations low and hope that he can go on to exceed them, rather than set them too high and end up disappointed when he doesn’t meet them.

Alisson, Milinkovic-Savic & 15 summer transfer targets from Serie A this summer

With the summer window set to open in just three months, Goal looks at the players presently attracting the most attention in Italy's top flight

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    1Alisson (Roma)

    After being forced to play second fiddle to Wojciech Szczesny at Roma last season, Alisson has spent the current campaign showing just why was never usurped as Brazil's No.1 by Ederson despite the lack of game time in 2016-17.

    The 25-year-old has been labelled "the Messi of goalkeepers" by former Giallorossi coach Roberto Negrisolo and there are plenty of top teams across Europe who believe Alisson to be something truly special.

    Liverpool recently pulled out of a £62 million deal for the Selecao shot-stopper but, given Roma's annual need to cash in on its best players in order to meet FFP regulations, it is highly likely that Alisson will be on the move this summer regardless.

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    2Felipe Anderson (Lazio)

    A former target for Manchester United, Felipe Anderson was regarded as one of the best players in Serie A after an excellent second season at the Stadio Olimpico. Three years on, though, the Brazilian is struggling for consistency.

    However, he has not been helped by playing in a variety of roles, including wing-back, while he missed the start of the current campaign with a torn abductor muscle.

    There have been encouraging signs of late, though, and Lazio would certainly be open to offers for a player who is not a guaranteed starter and has also recently clashed with coach Simone Inzaghi.

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    3Andrea Belotti (Torino)

    After a sensational 2016-17 season, Andrea Belotti looked certain to leave Torino last summer. However, Granata president Urbano Cairo insisted that the striker would only depart if a foreign club met the €100 million buy-out clause in his contract.

    Milan did their best to land Belotti but they were, unsurprisingly, unable to reach an agreement with Cairo, who was dead against selling his most prized possession to a Serie A rival. Torino's stance has softened, and the asking price fallen, given Belotti has netted just five times in Serie A this season.

    Indeed, the 24-year-old remains an attractive proposition for any top side looking for an all-round attacker, as his struggles this season have more to do with a minor but nagging knee injury and Torino's poor form, rather than a lack of talent on his part.

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    4Stefan de Vrij (Lazio)

    The biggest bargain of the summer, Stefan de Vrij is available on a free transfer as his contract with Lazio expires at the end of June. The Dutch defender has been brilliant for the Biancocelesti since arriving from Feyenoord in the 2014 for approximately €7m.

    In the current climate, he is now worth at least six times that amount, having established himself as one of the best centre-halves in Serie A. Lazio fought desperately to persuade him to stay at the Stadio Olimpico – or at the very least agree to a new contract with a low buy-out clause – but the two parties were unable to broker a deal.

    As a result, De Vrij is now set to depart, with Inter his most likely destination, though several other clubs, including Juventus, are interested.

Liverpool fans want to see more of Harvey Elliott in the Premier League

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Harvey Elliott caught the eye of several Liverpool fans with an impressive performance against MK Dons, leading some to suggest that he should be given more of an opportunity in the first-team, perhaps even ahead of Mo Salah.

He is just 16 but already showed composure on the ball and looked an exciting threat going forward with four successful dribbles and three key passes, and a step-up to the Premier League could be good for his development.

However, Jurgen Klopp has not always shown faith in young players, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez a rarity in a team full of experienced players.

Given his age and the number of years he has to progress Elliott may have to bide his time, but if he can continue to display his talent in cup competition, as he did on Wednesday, then he should have a good chance of breaking into the first-team on a more regular basis.

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That would certainly please some sections of the Anfield support, some of whom are keen to see more of him as soon as possible, as evidenced in the responses below.

Wolves were beaten by a masterstroke decision according to Pat Nevin

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

According to Chelsea legend Pat Nevin, one critical decision made pre-game by Frank Lampard is what contributed to Wolves’ demise.

What’s he said?

Wolves were emphatically beaten by Chelsea at Molineux on Saturday afternoon as the visitors recorded a 5-2 victory.

Tammy Abraham netted a hat-trick to move to the top of the individual goalscoring charts, tied with no other than Sergio Aguero.

Chelsea boss Lampard slightly tweaked his system for the match as Antonio Rudiger was deemed fit enough to play the first 45 minutes of his season.

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The two-time Blues Player of the Year believes the change was the reason behind them cruising to all three points – speaking to Chelsea’s official website, he said:

“I bet a few people were surprised by the scoreline at Molineux at the weekend. I know I was for starters. Wolves are a tidy team, they have a well-organised defensive system that is generally drilled to perfection and they were arguably the favourites going into the game.

“The change of system [by Frank Lampard] against Wolves was in retrospect a masterstroke and one that would have surprised his opposite number, Nuno Espirito Santo.

“When you prepare for one system and a totally different one walks out, you must decide whether or not you should change.

“The home team rarely does in that situation and Wolves paid the price for not adapting.”

Least of Wolves’ worries

Whether or not the Portuguese boss should have ‘adapted’ upon hearing Chelsea’s team news is probably the least of their problems.

It’s not as if they put out personnel that was hugely unexpected – Rudiger was declared “fit to play” for this match, so that shouldn’t have been a shock and it was well-documented that Emerson Palmieri would be absent too through injury.

Had Wolves undergone similar preparations for this match and had someone of Willy Boly’s calibre in defence then it could have been a different game.

The 28-year-old was serving his one-game suspension and is their highest-rated player this season at 7.36, per WhoScored.

Santo very rarely changed his side last season, utilising a core squad of 19 players on their way to a seventh-place finish, so why would he chop and change based on a different formation from their opposition?

Nonsense.

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