Todd Boehly has shown that he has no problem with shelling out huge fees on new players as he looks to turn Chelsea into one of the top sides in Europe, but the American must avoid another transfer disaster with Joao Felix.

How has Felix performed at Chelsea so far?

Chelsea signed the Portugal international on loan from Atletico Madrid in the January transfer window, with the Blues paying a £10m loan fee as well as the forward's wages in order to bring him to Stamford Bridge.

Boehly was desperate to add attacking quality at Chelsea given the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling had struggled for form in the first half of the season, with the two experienced attackers managing just five goals and two assists between them in the Premier League so far this campaign.

Felix arrived with a big reputation despite never really living up to his potential in Madrid, notching just 34 goals and 18 assists in 131 appearances following a £113m switch from Benfica in 2019.

Sadly, he has shown little to prove that he would be a worthwhile signing at Chelsea this summer, with the 23-year-old unable to turn the Blues' goalscoring woes around, with just two goals and zero assists in his 11 Premier League outings thus far.

WhoScored has awarded the versatile attacker a disappointing 6.68/10 rating for his performances in the top flight, and that sees him ranked as the 11th-best performer in Frank Lampard's squad, which again suggests that he would not be worth signing on a permanent basis this summer given his price tag.

It is perhaps understandable that Felix has struggled so much when you consider that the Blues have managed just 30 goals in 31 Premier League fixtures this season, but the former Benfica man has been one of the most culpable strikers, as he has averaged 3.3 shots per game – the most of anyone in Chelsea's squad.

Should Chelsea sign Felix permanently?

He has an expected goals ratio of 3.6 goals in the Premier League, which suggests that he is also guilty of missing big chances, and the Blues cannot afford to be so wasteful in front of goal again next season if they want to re-establish themselves as a top-four club.

Frank Leboeuf was less than impressed with the Portuguese forward's performance in the 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu when speaking on ESPN.

He said (via BeSoccer): "Some [Chelsea] players did well, but most of them switched off, I'd say. What happened to Joao Felix today? It was not a derby between Atletico and Real Madrid. It was Chelsea. Yet he disappeared."

Considering the 23-year-old could set Boehly back around a reported £125m this summer, we think the American must focus his attentions elsewhere and ensure that he spends his money wisely, or else risk another disastrous season.

Mitchell Starc has forecast a concerted Australian attack on Sri Lanka’s captain Angelo Mathews in the three-Test series that begins in Pallekele on Tuesday

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele23-Jul-2016Freed of ankle pain that halved the range of movement in his right foot, Mitchell Starc has forecast a concerted Australian attack on Sri Lanka’s captain Angelo Mathews in the three-Test series that begins in Pallekele on Tuesday.Following a dispiriting tour of England and amid a surfeit of injuries to Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers, Mathews is set to face a searching examination from the No. 1-ranked Australians, who have often worked diligently to undermine the authority of opposition captains by limiting their capacity to perform on the field.Starc contrasted Mathews with his opposite number Steven Smith, who has so far performed very strongly as both batsman and captain for Australia. “Look, he’s under pressure,” Starc said of Mathews in Pallekele. “He’d be under pressure after the English tour and as a captain he’ll have to go through that pressure and perform as well. And that’s something that Steve, for us, does really well.”He’s been fantastic as a captain and led from the front as well, so no doubt we’ll put a lot of pressure on Angelo to perform. He’s got to lead as captain, so he’ll be a big wicket for us along with [Dinesh] Chandimal. For their bowlers [Rangana] Herath is the most experienced one and one that we’ll try and counter.”Starc came unscathed through the ODI tri-series in West Indies in June, and found some useful new-ball rhythm during Australia’s tour match at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. He has now gotten used to the unusual experience of bowling without discomfort in his right foot, and will seek to swerve the ball through a Sri Lankan side that has lost Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan since he last bowled to them, in Australia three years ago.”It’s fantastic to not see the three big names line up against us,” Starc said. “There were a few tough moments with those experienced batsmen in the line-up. They’re obviously a bit light on [experience] in the Sri Lankan team. They are coming off a series defeat in England, but back in their home conditions, they know it best and they’ll be up for a fight.”We’ll have to be at our best, but at the same time if we can make some early inroads and expose that inexperience, we’ve definitely got a fantastic bowling line-up to go through them.”From the more pleasant vantage point of seven months after surgery, Starc outlined exactly how much his right foot had degenerated before he surrendered to the surgeon’s knife. A two-centimeter fragment of bone broke off his ankle during last year’s first Ashes Test in Cardiff, before painkilling injections were required to deaden all feeling in the foot.He carried on despite this obvious handicap until the third Test of the home series against New Zealand in November 2015, where he broke another bone in the same foot and hobbled his way to the winning runs under lights at Adelaide Oval when clearly restricted. That second injury provided the catalyst for surgery, including the removal of the aforementioned fragment, the shaving of three bone spurs from the ankle and the excision of plenty of scar tissue besides.From days when he could only flex his ankle around two centimeters, Starc now has a range of movement closer to 14 centimeters. “It feels great. Having that bone taken out has done wonders for it,” Starc said. “That movement has been fantastic, ever since I started bowling again from surgery. There has definitely been no pain there through the West Indies and through the start of this tour. It’s a fantastic result and I’m looking forward to hopefully playing a much longer period of cricket now.”No longer needing to worry about physical restrictions, Starc has concentrated on tactical and technical work with the interim bowling coach Allan Donald, with whom he also shares an IPL team.”We’ve been working with Craig [McDermott] for a number of years now. To bring in AD (Donald) with a different set of eyes and a different set of theories is nice. It’s always nice to freshen things up and see what he’s got to offer on that topic as well,” Starc said. “We all reverse the ball pretty well, it’s just about doing it more often and getting it in those right areas here in Sri Lanka where it’s going to be needed a lot more.”I will always bowl my own way and if it means bowling a few yorkers here and there which I probably normally do anyway. It’s about getting that consistency a lot of us have had through the last 12 to 18 months. Josh Hazlewood has been fantastic at that, hitting a spot and really wearing batsmen down and taking a lot of wickets. I’m trying to get back to that consistency I had before I broke down.”I was feeling really, really good through that Perth Test (against New Zealand) and even through the few overs I had in Adelaide was where I really wanted to be in Test cricket. I’m always going to attack and try to take those early wickets, and I’m happy to go for a couple of runs if I can take early wickets.”Given the likelihood of two spinners being chosen, Starc can look forward to short, sharp spells at the other end, where Smith will seek to keep his pace up at its most destructive pitch. If he can do that, the pain he once felt in his ankle will instead be felt by the batsmen.

Glamorgan would have been in deep trouble had Australian born Nick Selman not scored 101, almost half the team’s total, in an attacking innings

ECB Reporters Network06-Sep-2016
ScorecardMichael Hogan stood in as Glamorgan captain•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Glamorgan would have been in deep trouble had Australian born Nick Selman not scored 101, almost half the team’s total, in an attacking innings.Selman, who last month carried his bat for an undefeated hundred against Northants, looked as if would emulate that performance until he was bowled the delivery after reaching his century. He will hope that this innings will not start a run of poor form- following his first century he suffered a run of four ducks.After an uncontested toss, Mark Wallace – in the absence of Jacques Rudolph, who had a sore neck – opened the innings with Selman, but Wallace was out in the seventh over, leg before to David Payne, which prompted a spectator to shout behind the arm” that was a poor decision umpire”.Selman had started with a flurry of boundaries, and although Will Bragg and David Lloyd were both out cheaply, Glamorgan had reached 130 for 3 at lunch, with Selman and Aneurin Donald in full flow.The fourth wicket pair had put on 65, before Donald, who was only four runs short of his 1,000 first-class runs for the season, top-edged an intended pull to mid-on. Kieran Carlson, playing his second championship game, was out with scoring, and after Selman was dismissed, Craig Meschede was also dismissed by Matt Taylor.Graham Wagg, meanwhile, played a watchful innings on a pitch that was seamer friendly, and had to contend with some accurate bowling from the Gloucestershire seam quartet. Wagg and Timm Van Der Gugten added a useful 38 for the ninth wicket, enabling Glamorgan to gain a batting point, before they were both dismissed by Craig Miles who, with Taylor, took four wickets.Gloucestershire had to face 31 overs after tea, but soon lost Gareth Roderick who edged Van Der Gugten’s fifth ball to second slip. The Glamorgan seamers also bowled a tight line, but it was a short delivery that undid Chris Dent, who tamely guided the ball to square leg.Will Tavare, who had laboured 67 balls for his 18, was the next to go when he was lbw to Michael Hogan, who was leading Glamorgan in Rudolph’s absence. Hamish Marshall and George Hankin, who was the Player of the Tournament in the recent Under-19 series against Sri Lanka, guided Gloucestershire to the close at 62 for3, a deficit of 158.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will host a relegation-threatened Everton side at Molineux in their penultimate Premier League clash this afternoon and Julen Lopetegui will surely be wanting to see out the final home game of the season on a high note.

The Spaniard's impact since arriving in the Midlands in November has been huge and ultimately transformed Wolves' season after finding themselves struggling to pick up points and fighting against relegation for the majority of the campaign.

Now the club sit 13th in the Premier League after several improved performances has secured them safety in the top flight and a victory in front of the unwavering home support today will further cement the faith in Lopetegui ahead of next season.

Indeed, the meeting with Sean Dyche's side will not be easy as the Toffees are teetering on the edge of the relegation zone and will be fighting for their lives on the pitch to ensure they can take the crucial points needed to join Wolves in surviving a drop into the Championship.

Wolves have taken all three points away from their last three league games against the Merseysiders, but after a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United last weekend, it could be an opportunity for Lopetegui to shake things up in the attacking threat with Hwang Hee-chan replacing Diego Costa in front of goal.

Will Hwang Hee-chan start against Everton?

It is fair to say that one of the biggest issues that Wolves have had this season is their lack of goal contributions, with no other team in the entire Premier League scoring fewer goals (30) this season.

Indeed, the Midlands outfit did make the effort to improve their presence in front of goal by signing former Chelsea star Costa on a free transfer in September, however, the Brazilian striker has failed to make the desired impact with just one goal scored so far and against Man United last weekend continued his uninspiring form.

Costa failed to have a single shot on or off target with just 22 touches of the ball over his 78-minute performance at Old Trafford, however, Hwang put on a much more lively cameo when he came off the bench for the second half.

The £30k-per-week South Korean dynamo – hailed "dangerous" by Kevin Campbell – delivered two shots on target, completed 100% of his dribbles and long balls, as well as making 13 accurate passes during his 45-minute display, warranting a much-deserved opportunity to start against Everton this afternoon.

Hwang has tallied up three goals and three assists over his 30 appearances in all competitions this season, but has only made ten starts in the top flight due to several injury troubles, which has ultimately hindered his ability to get a good run of form going in the team.

With that being said, Lopetegui essentially has nothing to lose by switching up his attack and making tweaks to his starting eleven this afternoon, but putting in the effort to improve upon last week's performance will be essential in proving his intent to get Wolves back to their winning ways next season.

Pakistan have recalled fast bowler Umar Gul to their ODI squad. The 32-year-old last played 50-over cricket for his country in April 2015. Gul is one of four fast bowlers – including the uncapped Hasan Ali – chosen to play against England and Ireland from August 18.Legspinner Yasir Shah has also made a return to limited-overs cricket for the first time since November 2015. He had been suspended for a doping offence and was unavailable for selection when Pakistan had toured New Zealand in January 2016. Seven out of the 16 men from that squad have been sidelined.

Changes to Pakistan’s ODI squad

In: Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, Umar Gul, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Nawaz
Out: Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Zafar Gohar

Fast bowler Mohammad Irfan was one of those to be left out. In the past, Pakistan have handled him with great care, mindful of his injury-prone nature. His pace and bounce have been seen as assets, but with only 12 wickets in nine ODIs over the past 12 months, he has been overlooked by the new selection panel led by Inzamam-ul-Haq.Others who haven’t made the cut include Ahmed Shehzad, Sohaib Maqsood and Anwar Ali. While Shehzad has fallen out of favour due to issues with indiscipline and inconsistency, Maqsood and Anwar have struggled with their recent form. Maqsood has not done much since starting his career with back-to-back fifties, while Anwar has gone wicketless in four of his last six matches.Sami Aslam, who made two high-quality half-centuries in the Edgbaston Test against England, was drafted in, as was Mohammad Nawaz, who made his Pakistan debut in the Asia Cup in February. Nawaz is yet to take an international wicket, but had a productive time in the Pakistan Super League where he finished with 13 wickets at an average of 18. He was also part of the A team tour to England this July.Meanwhile Hasan, a 22-year-old right-arm seamer, is the only squad member without any experience in international cricket. He made his List A debut in 2013 and has taken 40 wickets in 21 matches at an average of 22.87. Like Nawaz, he has recent experience of English conditions thanks to his inclusion in Pakistan’s A team tour last month.”While picking the squad, the team management and skipper were consulted and all concerned gave their consent in this regard,” chief selector Inzamam said in a statement issued by PCB. “The team has been selected keeping in mind the conditions and the recent performances of some players in domestic and A Team tours. The team is a fine blend of experience and youth and the selectors believe that this team will do well.”Gul’s return to the Pakistan team has come two months after he had accused the selectors of “double standards”. Though he has had problems with fitness, missing large chunks of cricket in 2013 and 2014 due to a knee injury, he said he had been overlooked for the 2015 World Cup despite meeting the minimum fitness requirements. After he was left out of the Test squad for England and even the national camps in Abbottabad and Lahore, Gul said he felt the selectors had lost faith in him.Pakistan’s ODI squad: Azhar Ali (capt), Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Nawaz

When Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp felt the screeching din of the full-time whistle after falling to defeat against Real Madrid in last season's Champions League final, he would have gallantly turned straight to the forthcoming campaign.

Liverpool had completed a domestic cup double, but the German manager's nemeses in Manchester City and Los Blancos triumphed in the Premier League and Europe respectively by the finest of margins.

The 2022/23 season has been anything but fruitful and the Reds have inexplicably fallen by the wayside, now holding just an outside chance of qualifying for next year's Champions League with three matches to play.

Sapped of energy and devoid of inspiration, Liverpool need reinforcements, and while the midfield department has been illuminated as the primary cause for concern, adding quality to the defence would also be a stellar way to rekindle the former cohesive resilience, and Nice's Jean-Clair Todibo has been identified.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Anfield outfit's scouts were at Nice's match against Rennes, with observers of divisional rivals Manchester United and Newcastle United also in attendance.

A fee of €45m (£40m) has been touted for his services, and with ostensible intrigue mounting, Klopp and co would be wise to act swiftly to bolster their ranks.

Should Liverpool sign Jean-Clair Todibo?

The 23-year-old centre-back has impressed during his time in Ligue 1, arriving at Le Gym on a loan deal from Barcelona before making the move permanent and since cementing himself as an important defensive cog.

Having forged 99 appearances, scoring two goals, the Frenchman has been a "rock" – as hailed by talent scout Jacek Kulig – at the back, playing 30 times in the league this term and instrumental in the division's second-strongest defence, shipping 32 goals from 34 matches.

As per Sofascore, he has made 2.2 tackles and 3.2 clearances per match this season, completing 89% of his passes; his incisiveness on the ball is illustrated by his 81% dribble success rate and his tenacity in key battles underscored by his 70% ground duel win rate.

It is this level of robustness that could serve him so well under Klopp's wing, with the German manager seeking clarity over the strength of his backline after a lacklustre year.

The £20k-per-week titan's arrival could even displace Joel Matip, who has fallen out of favour this term, playing only five of the last 17 league matches, and being branded as "awful" by CBS reporter Nico Cantor for during a shoddy display against Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this year.

The Cameroonian's recent upturn in form suggests that he is clawing for his future on Merseyside, but at 31 years old and failing to claim a starting berth with regularity, his ship might now have sailed at Anfield.

Todibo also ranks among the top 13% of defenders over the past year across Europe's top five leagues for progressive passes, the top 6% for successful take-ons and the top 8% for tackles per 90, as per FBref, with a skill set that might just strike a chord with Klopp and how he maps out his tactical philosophy going forward.

Providing a fresh dimension to the Liverpool defensive third, Todibo is discernibly dynamic in his varied approach, with Kulig accentuating this claim by also describing him as "complete".

And with the prime of his career ahead of him, he might find illustrious success in a switch to Liverpool, where he can blossom into a formidable force.

ScorecardSteven Davies is attracting the attention of several counties•Getty Images

Where Steven Davies plays his cricket next season is unknown. He is out of contract at Surrey, and, retaining England ambitions, wants to regain the gloves. Thanks to the emergence of Ben Foakes, he will not get to do that at Surrey anytime soon, but several counties, including Somerset, would give much for a keeper of his batting prowess.On this sweltering day at The Oval – much of a hearty crowd spent the day moving to avoid the sun, inverting a county cricket tradition of fans congregating under any rays of sunshine, real or imaged – Surrey had cause to thank that, for now, Davies remains all theirs.His pristine late cut, gliding the ball precisely through backward point, must register as one of the most delightful shots in the county game. A threaded drive through point off Simon Kerrigan, in between two men placed to stop just such a shot was followed, in the next over, by a sumptuous flick through midwicket off Arron Lilley; the outcome of both deliveries belied a lack of discernible effort from the batsman as they raced across the boundary. Each was a triumph of timing and grace over power.It says everything of Davies that, in this form, he was not the lesser stylist in his partnership with Kumar Sangakkara. The most notable contrast between the two was in intent: Davies’ fine half-century arrived in 96 balls, while Sangakkara’s took just 47. Their partnership of 77 in 17.5 overs – a product of sharp running as well as clean hitting – imbued new impetus into Surrey’s innings until Sangakkara scythed Nathan Buck to gully, where he was neatly taken by Haseeb Hameed.Davies, though, seemed hell-bent on returning the following morning, leaving the ball judiciously in between caressing the ball through the offside. He had made 59 fine runs when, to his evident consternation, a slog sweep picked out midwicket in the last throes of the day. It embodied a season in which he has provided wondrous shot-making, and yet is still averaging under 40 in Championship cricket.His disappointment at squandering a chance to make a match-defining innings was shared by several in the Surrey dressing room: not just Sangakkara, but also the openers Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley. Batting with great diligence and an austere mood out of sync with the sunshine, they extended their overnight partnership to 160 before both fell in consecutive overs to a zesty spell from Kyle Jarvis: Sibley played on; Burns cut aberrantly outside offstump, just when he appeared set on a second century, and 1,000 runs, in the Championship summer.The upshot is that, while Surrey have a dominant position, it is not quite the impregnable one they had threatened to build. For that Lancashire’s perseverance should be lauded. If their attack lacks an incisive streak, they are not short of tenacity. And, with two spinners in their ranks, they might feel that a final day target of 250 or so could imperil Surrey. Should either county have a positive result to toast, it will effectively ensure that they do not return to Division Two in 2017.Three years and three days after his only Test match was ruined by Shane Watson at this same ground, Simon Kerrigan again recorded figures of 0 for 53; this time, though, off 20 overs rather than eight. Sangakkara had briefly revived these memories, by driving Kerrigan through long-off for four, and then sauntering down the wicket and flicking him over long-on for six, in consecutive balls, but this was mostly a day of steadfast accumulation, not high-summer madness.

Everton's prospects of striking an investment deal with 777 Partners is now not something that will happen following news that they have reached an exclusivity agreement with MSP Capital, according to journalist Paul Brown.

What's the latest news involving Everton?

As per The Liverpool Echo, Everton owner Farhad Moshiri is 'inching closer' to closing a deal with MSP to give the Toffees some fresh investment, having entered an 'exclusivity agreement' that will last from a period of 30 to 60 days.

The report states that MSP will acquire a stake of 20-25% of Everton and will initially purchase preferential shares rather than equity and will also help to finance the building of the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

BBC Sport understand that a deal is not yet completed; nevertheless, talks are said to be 'progressing further' and they have stumped 777 in their own efforts to perform a takeover of the club.

Everton need finance to be ploughed into the club as they wait on the results of being referred to an independent commission over 'potential breaches of the league’s profitability and sustainability guidelines'. However, the verdict of the Premier League's investigation will not be made clear until October, as per Football Insider.

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Brown has said that any deal with 777 is now 'off the table' due to MSP's exclusivity agreement.

Brown told FFC: "As far as I'm aware, any deal with 777 is currently off the table completely. MSP have a period of exclusivity with Everton and it does look like they want to proceed. The original offer from them was not dependent on which division Everton were in, so it doesn't in theory matter if Everton go down this weekend or not, it might affect the price they pay to buy in."

What next for Everton?

Everton face a massive final Premier League match this weekend and know that a win against Bournemouth will guarantee their top-flight safety for another season.

Sean Dyche will have to make do without right-back Nathan Patterson on Sunday and there is also concern over whether striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be able to feature, as per The Liverpool Echo.

Change could be in the winds on the blue half of Merseyside, with the Daily Record claiming that the Toffees have started to sound out potential replacements for manager Dyche.

Botafogo manager Luis Castro is believed to have had 'initial contact' with Everton over the possibility of replacing Dyche. However, it is unclear what the permutations of the long-term will be until full-time on Sunday as the Blues desperately try to secure their Premier League status.

If Dyche manages to keep Everton afloat, the 51-year-old will have achieved his remit set when he was brought to the club back in January and will have given a platform for the club to build on come 2023/24.

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has said India will not play any day-night Test at home this season

PTI27-Sep-2016BCCI president Anurag Thakur has said India will not play any day-night Test at home this season. Thakur put to rest speculation on India hosting their first ever day-night Test in the long home season comprising 13 Tests which will be played up to March.Thakur said more experiments like the one in Duleep Trophy were needed before BCCI took the final call on introducing the pink ball in Tests.”It is too early to say anything [about pink ball]. As far as trying it in Duleep Trophy under lights is concerned, it was a big success. But you need to look at overall picture before you take the final call,” Thakur told .”I think we need to look into many areas before we take the final call. I would like to go into details in a scientific manner to take the final call. As of now, we are not ready to implement pink ball this season.”The pink ball was initially expected to be used in the ongoing Test series with New Zealand but the decision was put off amid speculation that it could be done in the upcoming home series against England and Australia. India are also scheduled to play a one-off Test against Bangladesh. Thakur explained why more time was needed before using the pink ball for the first time.”I think we need to take the final call after keeping a few things in mind. First, how to make it more interesting [for fans] and result-oriented,” he said. “If you have matches like the one in Kanpur [which lasted five days], well done.”Then we don’t need to do anything. Second, how do you involve more fans who come to the ground or watch it on TV? Third, you really need to look into areas as to how [pink ball] is impacting Test cricket at a time when enough people are not coming to watch Test cricket. What are the real reasons behind it?One more factor to be considered, he said, was the role of pink ball or red ball in terms of seam, shine, turn, swing and late swing.”With the red ball, you can have reverse swing after 20-25 overs, but with pink you can’t. So the challenge for batsman goes away,” Thakur said.This season’s Duleep Trophy attracted mixed responses about the use of pink ball from the current and former players. Thakur said the pink ball should be tested in at least a couple of domestic seasons before it is used in Tests.”Even if you have to play with pink ball, you should play two-three seasons with it in domestic cricket. Let us look at the ball, how it behaves, how the grounds behave.”Let us take Test matches to smaller venues and see if it makes any difference. You need to take it to much smaller centres where people have not seen international cricket. We must segregate Test and ODI venues and take Test cricket to smaller venues.”The way we have opened up new Test centres. Now we will wait and see how the response is in all these venues. That will be a real Test for the BCCI.”

Chelsea are reportedly eyeing a sensational summer swoop for Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar in the upcoming transfer window.

What’s the latest on Neymar to Chelsea?

According to recent reports from France, the Brazilian is looking increasingly likely to leave Paris at the end of the season.

The Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has been described as 'extremely keen' on bringing a star-studded talent to Stamford Bridge and he could find his man in Neymar.

Speculation surrounding the 31-year-old’s departure has been fuelled by his deteriorating relationship with the Parisian fanbase. Supporters recently gathered outside the star’s house and began chanting 'Neymar get lost' as in over five years at the club, he has been unable to deliver a first coveted European title.

As well as Chelsea's interest, Manchester United are also rumoured to be preparing a move for the attacker, but the Red Devils would prefer a loan move.

However, a move to the capital has gained momentum due to the impending appointment of former PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino, which would lead to a reunion between the pair for a potential price tag of €60m (£52m).

Should Chelsea sign Neymar?

The playmaker hasn’t featured since February after having to undergo ankle surgery, but his statistics still translate into extremely impressive reading – registering 35 goal contributions in 29 outings in all competitions to underline his status as one of the world’s most scintillating players.

His current manager Christophe Galtier has labelled Brazil’s joint-record scorer as an "artist" and he could definitely bring an injection of creativity, trickery, and dynamism into an underperforming Chelsea frontline.

The Blues’ attack has only mustered 36 goals in as many games and has desperately lacked potency and invention for months.

Therefore, the former Barcelona man could be the answer to all their woes, perhaps proving to be Boehly's most stunning signing yet given Neymar's calibre in the game.

Indeed, Pep Guardiola has previously lauded his magisterial elegance and said: “I remember watching clips of Neymar there and then thinking this is the king of Santos.

“If Neymar had stayed at Barcelona, they would have won two or three Champions League more. Him, Messi and Suarez were the best up front. I am an admirer. He makes football a pleasure.”

A player of his personality, calibre, and character would certainly add to the soap-opera feeling in west London and who knows how it will affect the already disrupted cohesion in the dressing room.

But, what is undeniable is Neymar’s extraordinary gift, and when we look back at his glittering legacy when upon his eventual retirement, we would most likely ridicule any club that would pass up the unmissable opportunity to have this magician in their ranks.