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Manchester United’s hunt for a goalscorer ahead of next season is already well-known and everyday new strikers are being added to the list of potential targets.
Most reports seem to indicate that it is a straight race between Tottenham record scorer Harry Kane and Serie A champ and top scorer Victor Osimhen of Napoli.
But a sensational L’Equipe report now states that United are interested in signing Brazilian superstar Neymar who is close to an exit from Paris Saint-Germain.
The report states that the Red Devils are the “most advanced” for the signing of the 31-year-old.
Neymar to United thanks to Casemiro?
While the former Barcelona superstar was averse to the idea of leaving Paris last summer, things have changed ahead of this summer and both the club and the player are open to discussing the possibility of leaving.
With Champions League football close to being secured and the Erik ten Hag era going smoothly, the Reds are expected to be “ambitious” ahead of next season with many ‘actors’ working on making the transfer a reality.
United talisman and compatriot Casemiro is said to be trying to persuade the versatile attacker to join him at Old Trafford.
Despite the off-field circus that surrounds Neymar, his on-field powers have not waned the slightest. He has made 29 appearances across all competitions with 18 goals and 17 assists to his name in that time.
The Brazil international’s current deal expires in 2025 and he is valued at €70million as per Transfermarkt.
Manchester United aren’t pursuing a deal for Neymar. Not the current regime anyway.
— Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) May 22, 2023
The L’Equipe report has also mentioned that “nothing is done” and the transfer is actually “far from it”. United’s main challenge is trying to finance a permanent move along with the player’s humongous wages.
The report has claimed that while matching the wages should not be a problem, paying a transfer fee on top of it is hard to “imagine”.
The idea could be to try and agree a loan deal with United paying full wages and despite PSG’s preference to sanction a straight sale, a loan move could be accepted.
United are not alone in the race however, with Chelsea and Newcastle United also interested.
Neymar deal makes little sense
The report still seems to sensational to be true with ESPN journalists Mark Ogden and Julien Laurens maintaining that the reports are far from the truth.
“Manchester United aren’t pursuing a deal for Neymar. Not the current regime anyway,” Ogden tweeted.
His injury record is not that great but his quality cannot be doubted but the final decision should rest with Erik ten Hag and he might be wary after seeing how the whole Cristiano Ronaldo saga panned out.
Should Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani win the club’s takeover race, this deal could potentially become reality. Otherwise it is unlikely that Neymar could be the club’s big goalscoring hope.
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