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Barcelona are exploring a loan deal for Neymar , in order to bring him in this summer before a permanent move.
The forward’s situation at Paris Saint-Germain has become untenable, with Neymar having made clear his desire to leave, the fans abusing him, and the club realising it is in everyone’s best interest to move him on.
They have been actively looking for replacements - including Juventus’ Paulo Dybala - but the situation remains complicated by technical and financial issues, particularly regarding Financial Fair Play.
Real Madrid had initially been Neymar’s first choice, but they do not have the money for even his wages without a significant sale, and in any case Zinedine Zidane would prefer a move for Paul Pogba .
A potential return to Barcelona has been one of the summer’s most high-profile sagas, but they are similarly struggling to come up with the funds.
Show all 38 1 /38Ranked and rated: Summer signings Ranked and rated: Summer signings Ranked and rated: Summer signings We rank and rate each of the Premier League's debutants.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Jetro Willems (Newcastle) - 3.5 The wing-back made a terrible introduction by misunderstanding his instructions and beginning his cameo by tearing around the centre of the midfield. 'What the f*** is happening?' an incandescent Steve Bruce shouted towards his backroom team. Then moved into his correct position only to give the ball away to Ainsley Maitland-Niles who then played in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the winning goal. A disaster.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Che Adams (Southampton) - 4 A tough afternoon for the £15m man. Missed a fine chance to open the scoring against Burnley and was then lucky to escape a red card for an ugly challenge on Ben Mee.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Craig Dawson (Watford) - 4 Was at fault for Brighton's opening goal when he was caught in possession. Failed to settle and looked vulnerable in Watford's brittle defence.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle) - 4.5 Another new Newcastle signing who ignored Steve Bruce's instruction. Was meant to play off the shoulder of Joelinton: instead drifted over to the left-wing. Barely made an impression.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Jota (Aston Villa) - 5 Replaced Trezeguet against Spurs but barely saw the ball.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) - 5 Came on for the final seven minutes against Newcastle. Touched the ball 5 times.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Andre Gomes (Everton) - 5 A disappointing match for the Portugal midfielder, who moved to Everton permanently this summer. Was forced off at half-time against Crystal Palace with an ankle injury.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Josip Drmic (Norwich) - 5 Only handed the last five minutes of Norwich's 4-1 loss to Liverpool on Friday night.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Callum Robinson (Sheffield United) - 5 Ran hard but made little impression. His most significant contribution was being withdrawn for eventual goalscorer Billy Sharp.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Ayoze Perez (Leicester) - 5 A disappointing debut from the former Newcastle man. Kept himself busy but there was little end product.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal) - 5.5 Only had 13 touches after coming on in the second-half against Newcastle. But was given a huge reception by the travelling fans and will get more chances in the weeks to come.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) - 5.5 Given the run around by Manchester United at Old Trafford even if he did make a few encouraging raids forward early into the first-half.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Patrick Cutrone (Wolves) - 6 Tore around the pitch after being thrown on for the final 15-minutes against Leicester but was unable to fashion any real chances.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Wesley (Aston Villa) - 6 Impressive outmuscled Davinson Sanchez for Aston Villa's opener. Had little chance to get forward thereafter.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Youri Tielemans (Leicester) - 6 The midfielder joined Leicester permanently this summer but this was not his finest performance. Struggled to find space in the final third.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Luke Freeman (Sheffield United) - 6 Only handed the last ten minutes against Bournemouth but did look a threat in possession.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Dani Ceballos (Arsenal) - 6 Only a limited run out for the Real Madrid loan signing. Wins an additional half point for cynically preventing Newcastle from taking a quick goal kick by 'accidentally' booting the ball out of play.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Moise Kean (Everton) - 6 Didn't have too many opportunities in his 20-minute cameo against Crystal Palace. But had some nice touches and is clearly a talent.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Everton) - 6 Replaced the injured Andre Gomes at half-time against Crystal Palace. Some nice flashes of skill but also guilty of overplaying at times. Needs a few matches to settle.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Sebastian Haller (West Ham) - 6 Always difficult to make your debut against Manchester City. Held up play reasonably well but had no opportunity to show his prowess in front of goal.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Trezeguet (Aston Villa) - 6 Had an impressive first-half against Spurs but ran out of energy in the second before being replaced by fellow summer signing, Jota.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Raul Jiminez (Wolves) - 6 Joined Wolves permanently this summer. Should have opened the scoring when he was picked out by the impressive Ruben Neves at the very beginning of the second-half.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Jay Rodriguez (Burnley) - 6.5 Thrown on for the last five minutes against Southampton but was given a huge reception and quickly made his presence felt.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) - 6.5 Came on for the final half an hour at Old Trafford. Didn't get much of a chance to showcase his ability but did achieve the rare feat of dribbling past Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Bjorn Engels (Aston Villa) - 7 Had a fine game in the heart of Villa's defence against Spurs, only to pay the price for his team's decision to drop increasingly deep, inviting waves of pressure.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Joelinton (Newcastle) - 7 One of Newcastle's best players in the loss to Arsenal. Held the ball up and linked-up play well. Will be interesting to see the strike partnership he forges with local legend Andy Carroll.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Oli McBurnie (Sheffield United) - 7 Was left on the bench until the hour mark but made a lively cameo and stretched Bournemouth's defence.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Rodri (Manchester City) - 7 Was immediately roughed up by West Ham's Manuel Lanzini. But recovered well and already looks at home alongside Kevin de Bruyne in City's midfield.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Philip Billing (Bournemouth) - 7 Spurned a good chance early on against Sheffield United. But grew into the game and already looks a good signing.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Leander Dendoncker (Wolves) - 7 Had an impressive game and saw a lot of the ball. Was unlucky not to score the winning goal when his finish was ruled out by VAR.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Erik Pieters (Burnley) - 7.5 A fine performance against Southampton, helping to set up both of Ashley Barnes' goals.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Neal Maupay (Brighton) - 7.5 Came on as a second-half substitute and scored Brighton's third goal against Watford. Expect him to start next week.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Tanguy Ndombele (Tottenham) - 7.5 Really struggled in the first-half against Villa. But scored a lovely goal in the second which calmed his nerves and he finished the match in style, linking up superbly with Christian Eriksen.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Daniel James (Manchester United) - 8 Do 16-minute cameos come any better? Was thrown on late into the game and added United's fourth, evading Emerson on the edge of the penalty box and seeing a deflected strike fly past Kepa.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Tom Heaton (Aston Villa) - 8 Made a string of fine saves, including a flying stop to prevent Christian Eriksen's curling free-kick.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United) - 8 A fine performance from the 21-year-old on his United debut. Bombed forward at every opportunity and was reliable in defence, making an outstanding sliding tackle to deny Ross Barkley in the first-half.
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Ranked and rated: Summer signings Harry Maguire (Manchester United) - 9 Man of the match in Manchester United's 4-0 win over Chelsea. Led the defence on his first appearance for the club and didn't put a foot wrong all match.
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There have been attempts to work a deal where they could swap him for cash and players like Philippe Coutinho or Ousmane Dembele , but that hasn’t yet proved possible.
Sources feel the most amenable option may be a loan, and it is understood some of Neymar’s Brazilian teammates at Madrid and Barca currently feel this is likeliest.
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