Philippe Coutinho’s imminent departure to Bayern Munich does not mean Barcelona have given up the ghost when it comes to re-signing Neymar, according to reports from Spain on Sunday.

Coutinho is set to end an unhappy 18-month stay at Barcelona – at least temporarily – by signing for Bayern on loan, which takes him off the table as a bargaining chip in the Blaugrana’s negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar.

Howver, Mundo Deportivo have claimed that Coutinho’s removal from the picture does not mean Neymar will be staying away from Camp Nou this season.

The report goes on to say that it only increases the possibility of the Catalonians signing the Brazilian on loan, before being locked into a purchase option when more cash becomes available in 2020/21.

Real Madrid are still in the hunt – but president Florentino Perez may risk the wrath of his boss, Zinedine Zidane, who is not overly keen on adding Neymar to his dressing room.

The 27-year-old has also made it clear that he only wants to leave Paris for Barcelona, which gives PSG less transfer leverage to play with.

Neymar is training with PSG but is set to miss his second Ligue 1 game in a row after Thomas Tuchel excluded him for the squad to play Rennes on Sunday evening.