Chelsea are displaying notable signs of ambition under the new ownership of Todd Boehly, and could make an audacious move for Neymar Jr. this year...

What’s the word?

Neymar has been one of the most salient name’s in world football since his arrival onto the scene with Brazilian club Santos almost one decade ago, and now, playing for Paris Saint-Germain, could finally grace the Premier League with his enigmatic presence. 

According to reports stemming from Spain, the west Londoners are intrigued by the possibility of signing the fleet-footed artiste, and could look to instigate a transfer this year. 

Having starred for FC Barcelona and PSG, raining a thunderous collection of goals and assists and an abundance of major honours, Neymar would be a stellar addition to kickstart the new era at Stamford Bridge. 

“Phenomenon”

Since his £49m transfer to Barcelona from his South American homeland in 2013, the 30-year-old whiz has prospered as a truly generational talent, one of the greatest attackers of the modern age.

And as per FBref, he ranks within the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers for rate of non-penalty goals and progressive passes, the top 1% for shot-creating actions and the top 3% for rate of assists across major leagues over the past year.

Once hailed as a "phenomenon" by compatriot and ex-Blues defender David Luiz, there are very few professional footballers that yield as much natural talent and physical brilliance as Neymar, who could take the reins at Chelsea, lead them away from obscurity, and pave the way for a successful future of immense proportion.

Indeed, with the club losing six of their first 17 Premier League matches this term and consequently languishing in tenth place, a flair of creativity, an introduction of resounding ingenuity could prove to be the key to unlocking defences and returning the Blues to their full-firing excellence that lies dormant beneath Stamford Bridge.

Neymar's introduction would be a stellar and auspicious improvement on winger Christian Pulisic, who has struggled to live up to the £57.6m price tag since arriving from German outfit Borussia Dortmund in 2019, scoring only 26 goals and serving 21 assists across 136 competitive outings.

And over the current campaign, the American flanker has netted just once across 21 outings, providing two assists; his floundering form has resulted Chelsea in looking to initiate a transfer away from Stamford Bridge, with The Athletic reporting that £35m would be considered sufficient to part with the player.

Neymar, in retrospect, has recorded 15 goals and 13 assists this season, and is indeed one of the most prolific wingers of the last decade, tallying a total of 220 goals and 149 assists from 351 showings at club level since his arrival in Catalonia.

And his international record is also not to be sniffed at: scoring a remarkable 77 goals across 124 appearances for Brazil, tied as the record alongside the legendary late Pele, the "artist" - as dubbed by PSG boss Christophe Galtier - would likely pump vibrant life into the Chelsea engine.

Potter must swoop for the phenom, a deal may prove strenuous to see over the finish line, with PSG likely to repel any advances for one of their most coveted assets, a sensation they signed for a world-record fee of £200m in 2017, but with Boehly already demonstrating convincing signs of targeting big, bold transfer manoeuvres, Neymar could be the marquee move to take the Blues right to the very forefront of the global rankings.