The ongoing transfer saga regarding Neymar’s potential departure to Paris Saint Germain has been a stumbling block in Barcelona’s transfer activities. The Brazilian attacker is poised to break Paul Pogba’s tag of world’s costliest player as PSG are ready to break the bank by paying his mammoth €222m release clause.
Neymar’s recent fight with newly recruited Nelson Semedo on the training ground has further cast his position at the club in doubt. He was seen leaving the practice session after an ugly spat between the two and this incident could add more fire to the speculations. A contingency plan is already in place as Barcelona are considering a few names as his replacements.
According to reports, the Catalans are ready to swoop in for Dele Alli. The Tottenham Hotspur hotshot is one of the most highly rated midfielders in the European circuit right now and Barcelona would love to have him at the Camp Nou.
Mauricio Pochettino’s fluid passing style has been one of the main reasons behind his stupendous success and he won’t have to change his playing style much as the Catalans are habituated to a similar kind of playing style more or less.
The English midfielder is currently one of the hottest prospects in the transfer market. Since his move from MK Dons in 2015, he has been in phenomenal form especially last season has been the breakthrough campaign in his career as he guided the North Londoners to the second position in the English Premier League.
He has been the focal point of Pochettino’s strategy last season and is likely to hold a more spontaneous role under his guidance once the next season starts. Having signed a new deal until 2021, it would be very difficult for the Catalans to prise out the 21-year-old.
Barcelona had a pretty ordinary last season as they finished second in the La Liga and also crashed out of the UEFA Champions League following a quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Serie A side, Juventus.
The Catalans appointed Ernesto Valverde as the new manager but the Spaniard hasn’t been able to land a top notch player at the Camp Nou. Alli could also be a suitable cover for Andres Iniesta.
Overall, the Catalans need to get this deal done at any cost but they have to dig in for the long haul with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy at the opposite side of the transfer talks.
