Despite Neymar's expressed intent to rejoin Barcelona, such a scenario now seems a remote possibility for the Catalans after club president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed he was looking beyond the Brazilian superstar and was now more likely to sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan.
The club chief has expressed doubts that Paris Saint-Germain would make Neymar available in the transfer market. The Parisians are aware of the prevailing market difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic, and given the situation, making a favorable deal on the PSG ace seemed next to impossible.
Neymar has yet to agree on an extension deal with PSG, which appeared to affirm the reports that he wants a return to La Liga in time for the summer transfer window. However, Bartomeu is not quite optimistic that a deal for the prolific goalscorer will be completed soon.
According to The Sun, the Barca chief is convinced that PSG will not sell Neymar below the price tag previously set. At the same time, Camp Nou is unwilling to spend big when money is not readily available.
That is why Bartomeu is not seeing a deal on the former Barcelona star getting done in the coming weeks. This notwithstanding the talks that the Spanish giants are willing to agree on a swap in order to bring Neymar back to Spain.
Reports said that if the Parisians release the Brazilian striker, then Barcelona will send Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele to the French capital in return. But Bartomeu has opted to remain silent on this rumored swap deal.
Yet the club chief is more than willing to talk about Barca's interest in Martinez. He confirmed that inquiries have been made on the 22-year-old Argentine, who proved sensational in the season with 17 goals scored in 38 games for Inter Milan.
Forbes reported that Barcelona and Inter are now negotiating on a deal that could see the young striker joining up with the Catalan giants for next season. The Italians are said ready to sign off the rising star to Barca but for a transfer fee not lower than £100 million.
The Catalans are hoping that the asking price will be lowered a bit, which is a possibility if reports are true that Martinez is already looking forward to playing alongside his fellow Argentine Lionel Messi. The expectation by Barcelona is Inter will adjust the fee to a more reasonable level, given the fact that Martinez is sold on the transfer to La Liga.
The two camps are expected to accelerate the discussions once the Spanish football season is over. By that time, per the same report, Barcelona will have more time to focus on the deal talks and to raise the money needed to fund the acquisition of Martinez.
