If Neymar stays, we will have a player who will help us win- Thomas Tuchel

The Brazillian was missing in his side’s second fixture of the campaign which resulted in a loss. 

Thomas Tuchel has voiced out his preference regarding the whole Neymar situation, believing that their playmaker cannot leave until his replacement is sorted out before the transfer window has shut. Recent reports have suggested that the 27-year-old is set to leave Paris Saint-Germain and return to Spain in order to join either Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Speaking to the media after a shock away defeat to Rennes, in only the second match of the new Ligue 1 campaign by 2-1, the German gaffer said, “He will not leave without recruitment, it is not possible. It's clear - if he stays, we will have a player who will help us win. We lacked capacity for acceleration. There were small situations where space opened but we were not decisive."

The tactician further added in context of Neymar’s absence that, "What I think is not important. Today my player cannot play because he has not done any training like the others. This is the situation, and nothing has changed. It was a difficult match, but we expected it. We do not have everyone available. Some players only participated in two weeks of training.”

Neymar has been absent from the squad for a prolonged period of time, reportedly nursing an ankle injury. PSG clearly missed his influence over the game as the side looked short of ideas in the final third and could not trouble the hosts while going forward.

Edinson Cavani handed the opener in the 36th minute, but following two goals in each half from Rennes meant that the defending champions have already registered their first defeat of the term against the same side that also beat them to the Coupe de France trophy last season.

Despite the poor run of away fixtures, which have resulted in five away defeats in six games covering last season as well, the 45-year-old manager has expressed positivity regarding his own future and called for patience.

Talking in this context, he added that, “I am a very happy man. There is no one who is putting more pressure on myself than me. It's the same for every coach. We can play better than today. Things are not easy - everyone has improved in Ligue 1 and the Champions League, It's time to be patient and to keep your confidence. We cannot question everything after a bad result."

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However, it is clear that clouds of doubt surrounding the future of their record signing has certainly affected the preparations and the situation needs to be solved before becoming worse for both the club and the player.

Neymar was bought by Paris Saint-Germain from FC Barcelona for a world-record fee of around €222 million in 2017 but has fallen on hard times recently, especially with the fans who have openly berated the player and demanded his exit from the club.