Very few people would have imagined that Neymar would be back at the forefront of a major transfer saga a few months ago.

The Brazilian completed his shock move from Barcelona to Paris-Saint Germain for a fee that more than doubled the previous world record and seemingly established the Parisians as one of the game's biggest players.

And yet here we are, in the very next window, seeing the transfer of Neymar to Real Madrid look increasingly more likely with every passing day.

All kinds of reports have come out in recent weeks, suggesting both that Neymar wants the move and that Real are already making moves towards getting it done.

Is anyone expecting to see Neymar in the all-white kit this window? Of course not, but the theory that he never planned on a long-term stay in Ligue 1 does make a lot of sense.

It may be a little much to say that PSG are being bullied into a potential deal by Real's fine-tuned pressure tactics, although they've only really just begun.

This will be a long haul chase if Florentino Perez wants Neymar at the Santiago Bernebeu permanently, and if the Brazil captain really is only staying in France for a few years, you can be damn sure that Real Madrid will position themselves perfectly to benefit from it.

If anything is a sign that Real are starting to get things moving it's that sources close to Neymar have felt the need to comment on things.

Sky Sports are reporting that Neymar remains "very, very happy" at PSG and that the rumours of him wanting a move back to Spain are "nonsense".

Whether this is Neymar actually wanting things to stop or his club wishing they would is obviously very unclear - but neither will want this to be the story when the two clubs meet in the Champions League round of 16 next month.

Real, on the other hand, will surely be seeing this as their plans well and truly being in motion.

Their terrible La Liga season and recent elimination from the Copa del Rey has left Zinedine Zidane's side relying solely on the Champions Leauge this season.

Going forward, however, big changes are afoot, with a whole host of elite attacking players being linked with the side. Eden Hazard, Harry Kane, and Mohamed Salah feature as some of the biggest names linked - although Neymar surely remains the holy grail.