Paris Saint-Germain have approached Manchester United over a possible Neymar swap deal for Paul Pogba, as per the Independent.
It seems Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain are ready to cut their losses on Neymar, who they signed from Barcelona for an astronomical £200million last summer. And while Manchester United have been contacted, as one of the few other clubs in the world who can afford his demands, it is understood that chief executive Ed Woodward has rejected the opportunity as he feels it would be ‘far too expensive to justify’.
However, should the deal be sweetened, and the two clubs sit down to discuss surely one of the biggest transfer deals of all time, then here’s a look at some potential knock-on effects.
Same old problems
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping to take a step away from Manchester United’s unidentifiable transfer policy and a step towards the club’s core principals and values; young, promising, talented and passionate.
Neymar ticks just two of those boxes. He’s a superstar in the same way that Paul Pogba is; one that comes with plenty of baggage to say the least.
Indeed, there are absolutely no assurances that, should the move happen, and when the dust settles, that Neymar would still be giving it his all. He missed 18 games through injury towards the end of the recently completed season, which saw PSG claim just a domestic title, and faces further time on the side-line due to two three-game bans, one of which was awarded for insulting the referee after the Manchester United game and another for another for clashing with a fan in the wake of PSG’s loss in the French Cup final back in April.
It’s the kind of controversy and trouble Manchester United need less of at the moment as they focus all their attention and effort on climbing back up the table.
Youth suffers
This is a big one.
Manchester United have historically built their success around one key principal: to promote youth and provide them with an opportunity to flourish. Signing Neymar would jeopardise these efforts.
Indeed, a club don’t sign a star like the Brazilian to sit on the bench – no. Simply by virtue of cost, which would be astronomical we’re sure, Neymar would need to be the first name on the team sheet. Irrespective of form, he would take precedent of anyone else. That means less opportunities for the likes of Angel Gomes, Tahith Chong and Mason Greenwood, all of whom will be hoping to feature more prominently under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The club have to ask themselves, is it worth throwing away their careers for the sake of a player you’d likely get precious few assurances from? The answer should be no, every single time.
Ole loses faith
One thing is for certain: if Neymar did sign for Manchester United, it wouldn’t be at the Norwegian’s command.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made his intentions very clear this summer in signing Swansea talent Daniel James. The Welshman is what we’d called a Manchester United signing for reasons stated earlier; young, pacey, willing and passionate.
In contrast, when unnatural deals for players like Neymar are discussed, it implies that there is a worrying disconnect between the manager and the commercial side of the club. That money, not football, is driving the club’s movements, and the likes of Ed Woodward – who was recently attacked by pundit Danny Higginbotham for his unwillingness to appoint a director of football despite having no previous experience in the game – is strong-arming the manager.
How long would that kind of dynamic last before Solskjaer loses faith in the relevancy of his position?
Not a good place to be.
Manchester United fans, do you agree with our predictions? Let us know in the comments below…