The Neymar links just won’t go away

By: Jack | March 29th, 2011

And they probably shouldn’t given what we’ve seen of this kid.

neymar
Primed to cash in?

Neymar gave Chelsea the figurative middle finger nearly a year and a half ago following a protracted courtship that featured all the winks and blown kisses one could ever ask for. Well, at least that is what Santos wants us to think happened.

Regardless of who wanted what last summer, the whole ordeal turned out to be a long, fairly dull and, ultimately, a waste of our, as Chelsea supporters, time.

Needless to say, the kid has remained within the club’s scope and for good reason. The 19-year-old has been toying with opposition on a regular basis, this time without offending an entire country or blowing up in a manager’s face. And now, after shoving a banana in the proverbial tailpipe of the Scots via a marvelous display at the Emirates over the weekend, the wooing has resurfaced.

This time, however, it’s Neymar doing the talking.

The kid told Sky Sports: “Chelsea’s a great club. It’s a dream of every player to play at Chelsea. If one day it happens, I will be very happy to come. When the moment comes we are going to sit with my family. We are going to think about it and discuss the options.

“Last year, when Chelsea came, we sat together and we thought it wasn’t the time yet. If it happens this year, we are going to sit again and are going to discuss about it.”

Alright then. What to make of it?

Well, after that initial saga, I’m not going to make anything of it. Sure, Neymar is a wonderfully talented young player with a potential curve difficult to match on the world scene. Would I take him at Chelsea? Please. The real question is why wouldn’t any club want a player with this kind of upside.

But I’m not going to pretend like this is a formality. Far from it. Still, this appears to be, on the surface, a promising development in the club’s pursuit of talented young prospects. More specifically, Brazilian prodigies. Ramires, Bob, Piazon more recently – we’re on a serious Samba kick. I, for one, am enjoying the South American flavor – and the accompanying beauty that is their female counterparts.

Back to Neymar. I’m still unsure if he will even move abroad after this season. Santos president Alvaro Ribeiro de Oliveira is talking a large game, at least.

“Playing in England is not the same as playing in Vila Belmiro. It is much worse, because of the climate and the style of football which he is unaccustomed to. We have demonstrated that, as he has developed into a player who represents the best of Brazilian football – being audacious, skillful, effective, attacking- he is going to become a key figure in the history of Brazilian football,” he told ESPN, while reiterating that the club is not interested in cashing in on the new face of Brazilian football.

Sure you aren’t. I’m also fairly certain that Liverpool weren’t interested in moving Fernando Torres. An obscene amount of money seems to rearrange outlooks. And, with Roman apparently in a generous mood, a move for Neymar could easily be completed. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Bonus: A couple of moving pictures featuring Neymar. The first is his exclusive interview with Sky Sports. The second, meanwhile, is an abbreviated highlight package of his work against Scotland. Enjoy.

Some Related Chelsea Posts:

Category: Chelsea Team News, Quotes, Transfer News

« An Open Letter to Jose Mourinho | Home | Injury Updates: Billy Clifford needs a knee op »

Ady

20 mill? after the amount we pay for Torres, obviously santos would only want 35 mill above... I thought Neymar's contract has 40 mill+ transfer clause or whatever & don't forget the third party ownership (brazil investment trend geeezzzz)
Coyat

his mohawk alone will cost Roman at least 20Mil.. but it'd probably still be a bargain
Jack

I noticed a lot of you guys are apprehensive over Neymar's supposed poor attitude. The reason I neglected to touch on that aspect is because a regular member at CFCNet, who lives in Brazil and follows the Brasileiro intensely, has repeatedly said those incidents - particularly the one where Neymar had a quarrel with his then manager - were isolated incidents. Apparently he's been close to a model player so far this season.
Devin Anand

Good point. I think attitude also comes down to the influences in the club. With guys like JT and Lamps serving as examples, I'd doubt they'd let a kid come in and wreck morale or let him stir some shit up.
Devin Anand

I like the idea of a Brazilian/Portuguese contingent at the club. But I worry about the kids attitude. And the price? A bit too much if you'd ask me. Still, can't deny the kid is class.
Desailly

Wouldn't it be nice if we signed a player that wasn't super hyped up and didn't have that inflated price tag that comes along with it?
That would be something.
Honestly I'd prefer Lucas Moura (Sao Paulo)
The boy is only 18 and is already a class act.
Oh, and he's still under the radar...for now.

If Abramovich doesn't want to take that risk, I'd still prefer Ganso over Neymar.
Neymar is trouble, and anyone who doesn't believe that can go ask Santos fans who got their previous coach fired.
He's treated like a prince over there and seems to think he's bigger than the club and management.
Def don't need that kind of player at Chelsea regardless of how talented they are.
Jack

I agree, but don't forget Piazon. He could well turn out to be one of those type of players. Apparently we're also eyeing 19-year-old Palmeiras left-back Gabriel Silva.
Venkat

Left back?!!! with Yury, bertrand, aan holt all waiting!! And with nditi doing well, why an left back!?!
Mateo

lets trade Torres for him...
Sharinganfx

More Portuguese-speaking players. Welcome back Mou. Pretty sure Nelks is gonna be gone if Neymar's joining, especially with Sturridge hopefully coming back as well.
Venkat

But i have a doubt over his attitude. Hope he doesnt turn out to be a Baletolli!!!! But it would be fantastic if such a talent comes to our team!! That means curtains for Malouda,kalou and borini. Sad to know that Borini is leaving anyway! Even yday he had scored the equalizer with his head! We may miss the impact sub that kalou is!!
Ph0bolus

I see him following in the shoes of Robinho more than Balotelli. If so then pass.. I saw a video of him acting like a baby because he didn't get to take a pen...he refused tonpass to teammates and held onto the ball way too long. A bit like drogba against Wigan last season.
Indulaltgg

he is no doubt the best footballing talent in the globe. so for chelsea it is the right time to buy this player. of course he wont be cheap. he will cost us between 20 to 30 million pounds. but i think it is a right price for such a talented player. four or five years before milan payed for Pato some 20 million pounds(i am not sure about the exact money). after the period of economic recession i think 30 million pounds is not that much money it was before(dont take me wrong i mean for Roman).
another important point against his transfer is his slight build. but if Luca modric, Ashley young, aaron lennon, etc are working wonders in Premier league so can Neymar. so go for him chelsea.
arn00b

20-30 million pounds? I'm sure they'll charge an arm and a leg.

As for his build, yeah, it is something to be slightly concerned about, but we said the same thing about Ramires and he's doing fine.

I'd rather have a small guy playing week-in week-out rather than someone like RVP who was born injured.

The only thing is that if we get him we need a midfield overhaul in such a case, since Neymar would never get the high balls we send into the box if there's people like Vidic in the box waiting for 'em.
arn00b

Great post. I, for one, am liking this movement towards young, hungry, Brazilian players. And despite what some idiot xenophobes say (the squad divides into foreign factions, blahblahblah) it's good to have players that connect with others in the squad on a language basis, country or even team.

It's something that is not very obvious on the pitch, but it does help the players acclimate and fosters a sense of belonging.

However, that doesn't mean that we need to buy Spanish players so that Torres can feel more at home. We've spent enough on him already. He can call Cesc and Almunia if he's feeling lonely.

And speaking of Brazilians, no mention of Scolari's plan to switch Drogba for Adriano and Hodgson Chelsea all the way to midtable hell.
Jack

I thought the same with regard to the positives we could see from a communication perspective. Samba flair x British steel sounds far too great to comprehend.

As for Scolari, I chose to forget that news as soon as it was read. Baffling.
Knife

so how did cum out of scolaris ass taste?
arn00b

I think that's a good technique. I still wake up in the middle of the night, screaming, covered in a cold sweat with the image of a startup XI of Belletti, Deco, Ferreira Hilario, Pizarro, Mineiro, Quaresma and a few great, yet totally disinterested players. Now Adriano is in that nightmare too.

The strangest thing of all, is that Scolari was kind of making a Luso-Chelsea, packing as many Portuguese and Brazilian players as he could, similar to what we're experiencing now.

Except that it was exactly the opposite. We're after players that want to leave Brazil to start their new careers in Europe (Neymar), Scolari was after players that want to end their European careers before "retiring" in the Brazilian league (Deco, Belletti.)

Having that said, I'm grateful for our dear Alex, who I'm sure has done/said something to encourage these players to the bridge.
Max

Very true. I think that, along with Alex, Luiz and Ramires are going to be big draws for other Brazilians who are thinking about joining Chelsea. Both seem to have their separate and distinct personalities, and I think that could help a lot. Luiz seems like the popular, always joking around, cool guy. Ramires the nice, thoughtful, and always helpful one. Both are up and coming Brazilian stars and mainstays in Chelsea and Brazil. Along with Alex (IMO, the strong but quiet type), I think they can be very successful in getting more Brazilians to join us. We already have another one on the way!