Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel has stated that Neymar continues to remain an important player within the first-team squad and he has nothing new to update with regards to the attacker’s future. The Brazil international has been heavily linked with a move away from Parc des Princes this summer with reports emerging that he is desperate to make the comeback with Barcelona.
Owing to this, there has been constant speculation over the forward’s future but speaking after the 3-0 win over Sydney FC, Tuchel stressed that there has been no change to the player’s position with the club, he said: "There is nothing new [to report] about Neymar. For me, he is our player, we train with him. It’s a question for the club and Neymar. For me, he’s in the dressing room, he’s training, he’s still my player. There is nothing new."
Neymar has travelled with the French champions on their pre-season tour of Asia but he has remained at the training base in Shenzhen whilst they have faced Inter Milan and Sydney. Next up, Les Parisiens have a French Super Cup final against Rennes in Shenzhen itself and there are doubts whether the attacker would feature in that game amid the uncertainty regarding his future.
Elsewhere, Barcelona have shown no eagerness to meet the staggering £273m asking price demanded by Les Parisiens, but they are understood to be trying other means of pursuing the Brazilian. One of them may include an exchange deal where they could be prepared to offer Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Rakitic and Samuel Umtiti to significantly reduce the transfer valuation.
On the other hand, a season-long loan approach is also being considered by the Catalan giants and it remains to be seen whether they can strike an agreement during the final month of the transfer window.