Barcelona Transfer News: Neymar Advocates Paul Pogba Signing, Latest Rumours

Barcelona star Neymar has said he would like to play alongside Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and believes he would fit in seamlessly at the Camp Nou.  

He told La Liga's official website (h/t Ken Higgins of Sports News Ireland): "Player I’d like to play with? [Pogba]. He’s a player that would fit in well here at Barcelona. I would like to have Pogba’s shirt. He’s young, I like how he plays, how he behaves. I’d love to swap shirts with him."

According to Marca's Adrian Quiroga and Rebecca Adams, Barcelona are among the elite sides "keen" on snapping up the French prodigy this summer.

Pogba has forged a reputation as one of Europe's hottest talents in four successful seasons with the Bianconeri, and after the likes of Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo left the club last summer, the 23-year-old has taken on new responsibilities.

The midfielder has also transitioned into the No. 10 role with Juve, and after a slightly underwhelming start to life in his new position, which coincided with the Old Lady's poor form in the first few weeks of the season, he has flourished, netting eight goals and providing 12 assists.

He recently found the net with a wonderful free-kick against local rivals Torino, per BT Sport's James Horncastle:

Nevertheless, football writer Philippe Auclair would like to see more from him:

Indeed, one thing Pogba could be accused of is overplaying—a tendency to showboat or fire an ambitious effort on goal when a simple pass would suffice, to the detriment of his performance—an accusation that could have been levelled at Neymar himself in his early days at Barca.

Pogba would need to grow out of that as Neymar has—the Brazilian still frequently shows off his enviable technique but is also making match-winning contributions with great consistency now—but he's turned out to be an excellent coup for the Catalan giants. 

Barca should act quickly to get the Frenchman, as according to his agent, Mino Raiola, the midfielder may end up staying put, per journalist David Amoyal:

Another player the Blaugrana reportedly have their eyes on is Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho, as according to Calciomercato (h/t talkSPORT), they have scouted the Brazilian and are weighing up whether to pursue him at the end of the season.

After allowing Pedro to leave for Chelsea, Barca have a need for a player who can rotate with their front three. Coutinho has had arguably his best campaign in a Liverpool shirt this season and recently reached a goal tally in double figures for the first time in his career. Opta Franz shared his stats:

The Brazilian showed excellent form in March, as Liverpool revealed:

Consistency is something of an issue for the 23-year-old, and some of the magic moments he creates paper over the cracks of otherwise poor performances. 

He'd need to work on things to make it at the Camp Nou as Neymar has, but the playmaker has the talent to make it at Barca if he can contribute on a regular basis.

TalkSPORT reported the Reds "will reject any approach" for him, though, so even Barcelona may struggle to prise him away from Anfield.