Neymar’s transfer logjam persists

Neymar’s future looks no nearer to being resolved before the European transfer window closes as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are driving a hard bargain.

The Parisians have made it clear they are willing to let the temperamental Brazilian move on, but it will be on their terms and they refuse to be bullied by Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Thomas Tuchel does not want any unsettling influences on the training pitch and there is a real chance that could happen going forward unless they can move him out before September 2.

Real Madrid and former club Barca are the two most likely destinations now that the Premier League window has closed, but hammering out a deal is easier said than done due to the large sums of money involved.

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Both Real and Barca are hardly flush and need to move bodies out to help fund a deal for Neymar, and a straight cash deal appears to be out of the question.

Offering players plus cash to PSG is another option for them both and could be the way forward. The problem is that the players on offer are not the ones that the Parisians are interested in.

Real have put forward cash and both Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez, two players they are keen to move on and get off the wage bill, but PSG have knocked it back.

They are said to have requested Vinicius Junior to be included as part of the deal, but letting the Brazilian starlet go is not in Real’s thinking.

For their part, Barca are reported to have offered Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic plus a cash adjustment, but PSG have again rejected the offer.

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PSG sporting director Leonardo has revealed that negotiations are more advanced than ever but it looks as though there is still plenty to be hammered out before a move can be announced.

It has also been suggested that PSG are more likely to do business with Real than Barca, putting Los Blancos in the box seat to seal a transfer, and Neymar will move to either just to get away from the France capital.

It looks as though there are plenty more twists and turns before this one gets sorted.