Paper Round: Barcelona set to fill their boots after bumper Neymar payout

It's Thursday's Paper Round on OlomoInfo Blog. The papers today are reporting that Barcelona are said to be planning a Premier League raid on Eden Hazard and Philippe Coutinho.

Neymar says golden goodbye

Neymar featured heavily on Thursday’s back pages as events unfolded on Wednesday that his move from the Camp Nou look increasingly likely, following weeks of speculation. Neymar, it seems, could be set to cost whichever lucky team nabs him, anywhere between £576 million and £198m, depending on which paper you read. The only thing Thursdays papers could agree on was that Neymar was definitely bidding farewell to Barcelona and that his club could expect to fetch a pretty penny for the deal. 

Our view: Neryma is leaving, Barcelona and the football world should deal with it!!

But as one door closes… two more open?

The big story on Thursday’s sports pages is – what will Barcelona do with all that cash? Well, The Sun reckons Paris Saint-Germain’s gain will be Liverpool and Chelsea’s loss with The Catalans ready to swoop in on Philippe Coutinho and Eden Hazard to fill the void. The latter is a particularly attractive option, so says the paper, as a long-term target for bitter rivals Real Madrid.

 

Our view: Barca desperately need a replacement for Neymar who is bound for PSG. Several name has been mentioned as options to replace the Brazilian at the Camp Nou. Hazard, Coutinho and Di Maria have all been fingered. Don't forget Real Madrid is also interested in Hazard, while Klopp has often stated that Coutinho is not for sale at any price. So who is much available for them? Di Maria?

Striking van Dijk hopes to force exit

Southampton defender, Virgil van Dijk is reportedly hoping to force a move away from the club by refusing to play for them. According to The Mirror, the Dutchman has held a number of “tense” meetings with his current club this week, having been left out of their pre-season tour after it was claimed he was not in the “right frame of mind” to play. With new boss, the confusingly named Mauricio Pellegrino, said to be increasingly frustrated by the 26-year-old, the club may now be forced to back down from initially refusing to sell him to Liverpool.

 

Our view: A player that wants to go should be allowed to go so far the club's demands are met. This is evident in how Barcelona handled the Neymar to PSG situation. van Dijk preferred destination is Liverpool who had shown interest in the defender earlier on after which they were forced to publicly withdraw their interest in him. But that could change soon.

Everton set to sign Sigurdsson

Everton manager Ronald Koeman has been experiencing better fortunes in the transfer market despite having lost his star-striker Lukaku, earlier in the summer. A number of reports on Thursday’s back pages suggest Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, 27, will sign for Everton within days, despite the Merseyside club’s initial £40m offer having been rejected.

 

Our view: After Everton's initial offer of £40m was rejected, one could expect the club to up their bid if they want to get their man. With Swans boss Paul Clement confirming that the Iceland international would not play for the Welsh side against Sampdoria on Saturday, that could give a clue that his move to Everton is close. Good one for Everton.