Diego Cavalieri

Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel has backed Neymar to bounce back after his average showing for Brazil during the summer World Cup. The 26-year-old was injured for Paris Saint-Germain during the final three months of the previous campaign but he thereafter struggled to inspire Tite’s men to glory at the World Cup.

As a result, there has been plenty of criticism from the Brazil faithful regarding his showing but Tuchel has backed Neymar to return to his old self with Les Parisiens, he said: “Everything impacts everything. I don’t think he needed this to be extra motivated. Of course, the whole Brazilian team expected more. Of course, it affects your approach to the players.

“Everybody in the squad and the club we want to help them feel very good soon so that they can approach their next goals and not worry about what happened at the World Cup. He is a big player. He knows how to handle victories and he knows how to handle losses. In sport, you have challenges to bounce back. He will bounce back. He is a champion.”

Paris Saint-Germain have endured mixed results during their pre-season tour of Singapore but much of this has resulted from Tuchel working with a reserve squad with most of the senior players on vacation. Nevertheless, the new manager has spoken glowingly about the progress of some of the club’s youngsters and he is prepared to offer an extended rest to players, who have been on World Cup duty.

Meanwhile, the Capital outfit have been very quiet in terms of transfers and they have made just a single signing in the form of Gianluigi Buffon on a free. Despite this, they are blessed with plenty of world-beaters in their ranks and it will be interesting to see whether Tuchel can end the club’s hunt for a maiden Champions League crown.