Paris Saint-Germain are lining up an eye-catching Kylian Mbappe and Phillipe Coutinho swap deal in an effort to keep Neymar happy at the French capital. According to recent reports, the Parisian club are already looking to replace Mbappe with rumours circulating that their Brazilian star Neymar is growing jealous of the French teenager.
It is believed that Neymar has been telling his pals that he is worried Mbappe is slowly starting to overshadow him in Paris. Some sources are claiming that the Brazilian forward has told his friend Dani Alves that he will no longer pass the ball to Mbappe as the ex-Barcelona star attempts to win the golden boot in the Ligue 1 this season. PSG had to cough up a world record transfer fee of £198m to seal a deal to bring Neymar from Barcelona last summer and are eager to keep their star happy to avoid losing him to Real Madrid in the near future.
It is being reported that Mbappe, who is currently on loan from Monaco with the transfer becoming permanent in the summer, could be shipped out of Parc des Princes. The result could indicate that the 19-year-old is sent to Barca, with Philippe Coutinho being used as a make-weight for the swap deal – with the French club asking around £263m. Coutinho signed for the Catalan giants in January after a long saga with Liverpool – with the two clubs eventually agreeing on a £142m transfer fee.
Neymar has found the back of the net 19 times to Mbappe’s 10 in the Ligue 1 this season, but the former is set to be out of action after falling victim to a serious ankle injury last weekend. Meanwhile, Coutinho has scored 14 goals and provided 10 assists in 28 appearances this term across all competitions.
Barcelona acquired his services on a long-term contract during the January transfer window so it’s hard to imagine why they would let him go in the near future. It seems like a story to fill the papers with both clubs currently fighting to stay alive in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. At 25, Coutinho still has his peak years ahead of him which Barcelona could look to utilise in the coming years.
Having said that, Mbappe has immense potential and at 19, he has the potential to be one of the best players in world football. It remains to be seen what lies ahead in the future of Mbappe and whether there is any truth about PSG wanting to let him leave in order to keep Neymar happy.
