How Neymar opens door for Arsenal and Juventus to sign Barca star

03 lug 2019

Neymar appears to be edging closer to a return to his former club Barcelona. The tricky Brazilian winger signed for Ligue 1 giants PSG in 2017, for a world-record fee, but appears to be close to a return to Catalonia, to the club where he truly made a name for himself.

Neymar's potential return to playing alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez opens the door for Arsenal and Juventus to pursue a former transfer target: French defender Samuel Umtiti. Umtiti, who was a part of France's World Cup winning squad in Russia last summer, has been a longtime target of both the Premier League and Serie A clubs but has, thus far, remained with Barcelona.

However, Barcelona's move for Neymar will mean that the La Liga side need to offload players, meaning the clubs interested in Umtiti are handed a fresh boost. Arsenal may take a bigger boost from Juventus' imminent deal for Ajax starlet Matthijs de Ligt; as the Bianconeri's attention and finances will be focused on this 80 million euro signing first and foremost.

For more news, views and features, visit our homepage.