Source: Daily_Mail
Chelsea in tapping row over Neymar
Chelsea were last night facing another transfer tapping-up row after reports in Brazil claimed that Santos were reporting them to FIFA over their pursuit of superstar teenage striker Neymar.[LNB]Santos sources allege that Chelsea approached the Brazilian superkid before he starred for his country against the USA in New York on Tuesday night.[LNB]The English club are expected to contest the allegation. Late Wednesday night, Stamford Bridge executives were unavailable for comment.[LNB] Star in the making: Neymar was in fine form during the clash with USA[LNB]Chelsea have been interested in the 18-year-old all summer - as first revealed by Sportsmail - but have seen at least one bid rejected.[LNB]Santos insist they will not do a deal for less than the £29.6million release clause in Neymar's contract.[LNB]However, transfer go-betweens claim a deal could be completed if the Barclays Premier League champions' bid tops £20m. [LNB]Having successfully overturned a UEFA transfer embargo last season following the controversial transfer of French attacking midfielder Gael Kakuta from Lens, Chelsea are expected to vigorously deny any wrongdoing.[LNB]When rejecting the opening offer from Chelsea last month, the Brazilian club said: 'Santos FC received an official offer from Chelsea for the economic rights of Neymar. President Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro has sent a response to the English club thanking them for their interest and reiterating the fact that Santos FC have no interest in opening negotiations.'[LNB] Hand it to him: Neymar takes the praise after opening the scoring against USA[LNB]West Ham had a £12m bid for the player rejected last month in a move that would have been seen as a stepping stone to Stamford Bridge.[LNB]Neymar has scored 32 goals in 33 games this year and there was an outcry in Brazil when national coach Dunga overlooked him for the World Cup. [LNB]This week, having been called up by new coach Mano Menezes, who has taken over with a commitment to restore the Beautiful Game, Neymar delivered a star-studded performance on his full international debut against the USA , scoring the first goal after 29 minutes.[LNB]He said: 'Everyone was very comfortable playing together. Mano gave us a lot of freedom to do what we always do on the field and that helped a lot.'[LNB]While Santos continue to insist they will only do a deal if the release clause is met, they took the same position with promising striker Andre, who had a £41m buyout fee written into his contract, only to be sold to Dynamo Kiev for £6.5m in June.[LNB] Neymar's not leaving Santos! Brazilians confident Chelsea target will stay putSign up to our FREE Fantasy Football game - with £40,000 in prize money up for grabsUnited States 0 Brazil 2: New-look Samba stars off to a flyer thanks to Chelsea and West Ham target NeymarNeymar boost for Chelsea as starlet hints at Santos departure[LNB]
