PSG Transfer News: Angel Di Maria Barcelona Talk Emerges Amid Neymar Rumours

Barcelona are reportedly "most likely" to get their hands on Paris Saint-Germain winger and former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria if they sell Neymar to the French powerhouse this summer.

French newspaper Le10Sport (h/t Calciomercato.com) reported all signs point toward Di Maria being used in part-exchange to push through the switch considering he would be competing for Neymar for a similar spot at PSG.

The report also mentioned Di Maria's substantial wage packet and prior relationship with Barcelona talisman and Argentina team-mate Lionel Messi are thought to be significant factors in why letting him leave makes most sense.

Neymar is understood to be close to joining PSG as long as they trigger his €222 million (£199 million) release clause, and broadcaster Bolarinwa Olajide recently detailed PSG's part-exchange offer in greater depth:

The potential new world-record deal for a transfer is under threat, however, after BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury wrote on Monday that Barca were considering reporting PSG to UEFA regarding their courting of Neymar.

What would undoubtedly stand out as the biggest deal of the summer—arguably of all time—recently took a controversial turn, too, when Eurosport UK expanded upon the possibility of Neymar paying to trigger his own exit:

As far as replacements for the Brazilian go, many Blaugrana fans may not be overly enthused with the thought of landing Di Maria as a replacement given it's only three years since he left rivals Real Madrid for Manchester United.

Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney pointed out another hiccup in the prospective swap, which is that Barca may prefer to gain as much cash as they want from Neymar's sale rather than have a replacement included in the package:

Of course, the offer of Di Maria in part-exchange makes sense from a PSG perspective, as they'd be able to offload an expensive player in the same position while upgrading upon him in kind.

But both players have their faults, and South American football writer Roy Nemer recently elaborated on some of Di Maria's deficiencies, which Barca would be wise to take heed of:

Di Maria has been a La Liga success in the past and came into his own toward the end of his four-year tenure at Real, although many would agree he doesn't contest to the same level as Barca's current MSN front three.

His relationship with Argentinian countryman Messi may be a boon to any deal, however, and Barca boss Ernesto Valverde could do far worse in his attempts to settle upon a Neymar replacement before the start of the new season.