Neymar Ponders Paris Saint-Germain Future as Rumors of a Move to Chelsea Escalate - Report

Neymar's future at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is up in the air, with the French outfit reportedly planning to offload him this summer. While the Brazil superstar is reluctant to leave the club, he's now pondering whether to stick around in France or move to a different club elsewhere.

PSG frontman Neymar could head to the English Premier League this summer, with Chelsea being the likeliest destination for the 30-year-old footballer, French broadcaster RMC Sport reported.

Current Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel and Neymar share a great rapport, having spent a considerable amount of time together from 2018 to 2020 when the German manager was at the helm of affairs at PSG.

Tuchel's tenure was the best Neymar has had in the French capital as he recorded 51 goals in just 67 games for PSG.

Neymar's potential transfer to Chelsea has even got the backing of his national teammate Thiago Silva, who has been a regular member of the English giants for the past few years.

"He has to go to Chelsea. If it happens, it will be for the best. If he is about to leave [PSG], then he must go there. If it happens, then the expectation is the best possible one. We don't even need to talk about Neymar's ability. Besides that, he is a super friend," Silva told Portuguese media outlet Globo.

"I hope this happens instead of only being something on the news, but I don't know anything about it," Silva added.

Nonetheless, it isn't the first time, Chelsea have shown interest in bringing Neymar to England.

In 2010, the Blues wanted to strike a deal with his boyhood club Santos but the Brazilian club rebuffed their offer and extended his contract.

Neymar eventually joined Barcelona in 2013 where he became one of the key members of the Catalan club's attack which also included Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Neymar arrived at PSG in 2017 on a world-record transfer fee of $264 million with a promise to deliver an elusive Champions League trophy to the French champions. Five years have passed since but he has failed to power the Paris-based club to Europe's premier club competition title.

Recent reports from France suggest that PSG's top management, including newly appointed sporting director Luis Campos, has told Neymar that he's "no longer needed" at the club. Such has been PSG's desperation to get rid of him that they are even willing to sell him for one-fourth of the price they paid to Barca for his transfer.

The report in RMC Sport claims that PSG are offering him for as low as $55 million, a massive climbdown in valuation for a player who was purchased for well over $250 million just half a decade ago.

Neymar on his part is doing all he can to prevent PSG from selling him. But concerns over his fitness have made the French side look for other players and that's possibly the prime reason behind their push to offload him this summer.

Last season, Neymar missed around two-and-a-half months after sustaining an ankle injury in November 2021.