Clement Lenglet Says Barcelona 'Can Work a Little Easier' with Neymar Saga over

Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet is pleased the club can put speculation over a return of Neymar behind them with the transfer window closed.

The Paris Saint-Germain star was linked with a move back to the Camp Nou throughout the summer but eventually remained at the Parc des Princes.

Lenglet told Canal+ (h/t Marca's Andreas Vou): "Neymar? There were many rumours. It was a very hectic period for the club. Finally it's over. This way we can work a little easier."

As football writer Jeremy Smith observed, there were twists and turns up until shortly before the window closed, when it became apparent the Brazil star would be staying with PSG:

Even after it seemed he would not be heading back to the Catalan giants, sports writer Andy West had his doubts:

It's hardly surprising given the enormous amount of speculation that followed Neymar throughout the window.

With the transfer window shut, Barca, Neymar and PSG will be free to focus on other matters, at least until January when it reopens.

However, a transfer the size of Neymar's is more likely to be completed next summer rather than mid-season.

PSG will hope to reintegrate Neymar into the team, as he is yet to feature for them in this campaign, while Barcelona have work to do on that front themselves after reportedly offering players in exchange for the Brazilian.

Football writer Andrew Gaffney noted as much:

Financing a deal to bring Neymar back after he left for a world-record €222 million—which Barca spent on Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele—without adding players as makeweights in the deal was always going to be difficult.

That is particularly the case given the club had already signed Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid for €120 million this summer. Barcelona need to get the likes of Dembele and Ivan Rakitic back onside after trying to offload them. 

The club have started the season with just one win from their first three matches, and they need to get back on track while it's still early.