Barcelona agree fee for Angel Di Maria as they finally close in on Neymar replacement .

 
 
Barcelona have agreed a fee with Paris Saint-Germain for Angel Di Maria as their hunt for a replacement for Neymar appears to finally be coming to a conclusion.

The Catalan club have been searching for new attackers ever since PSG paid out Neymar’s £198m release clause, and have previously targeted Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.
But as deals for that duo have stalled, Spanish outlet Sport say Barca have pushed ahead with a move for Di Maria instead, with a fee of around €50m (£46m) accepted by PSG.

Neymar swapped Barca for PSG, and Di Maria is now set to go the other way (Picture: Getty)

Barcelona have already agreed terms with Di Maria, who is excited about the possibility of returning to Spain having previously played for Real Madrid.
The former Manchester United flop already has a long established and fruitful relationship with Barca star man Lionel Messi, having played together for years with the Argentina national team.

Messi and Di Maria have a strong bond from their time together with Argentina (Picture: Getty)

Although Barca and PSG have a very poor relationship after the Neymar deal – which has resulted in a lawsuit – the French side need to sell and are happy to offload Di Maria.
The deal is not expected to halt Barca’s pursuits of Coutinho and Dembele, with the Spanish side making an improved offer of £138m for the Brazilian this week.

However, Barca will no longer be signing both players, while they have also pulled out of a deal to sign Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri despite a personal recommendation from Xavi.
Di Maria had a superb first season with PSG after ending his Manchester United nightmare, where he struggled for form under Louis van Gaal, though struggled to hit those same heights last year.