Neymar 'happy' at Barcelona, says Ernesto Valverde despite links with Paris Saint-Germain

Ernesto Valverde has said that there have been no developments regarding Neymar's uncertain future at Barcelona after the Brazilian helped the Catalans to a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Thursday (27 July). Nevertheless, he admitted that the La Liga giants are still expected to make some changes to their squad before the start of the new season.

Neymar, 25, scored the only goal of the friendly against United as the Catalans stepped up their preparation for the new season in the United States.

The Brazilian international also netted a brace in the weekend's 2-1 win over Juventus - but his future at Barcelona has been thrown into question after it emerged that Paris Saint-Germain are considering meeting his €222m (£197.6m, $259m) release clause.

Reports in recent days have claimed that Neymar has also given the green light ahead of making the move to the Ligue 1 side with the record transfer being expected to be completed in a matter of days.

Valverde, however, points out that Neymar is still a Barcelona player.

"The news is that Neymar was very happy, [he was] speaking with some friends from Manchester," Valverde said to the reporters in the post-match press conference. "There is no further news, except that he is still with us, which is very good, and we are very happy with the result against United." Neymar was pictured speaking with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and their star midfielder Paul Pogba before the game.

Valverde continued: "We are happy with the game, to have won against a side like United, who have a lot of strength. I think the first half was played with a high rhythm. There were lots of chances at both ends, so in the second half we tried to control the game."

The Barca boss has only made one major addition to his squad during the current summer transfer window, bringing Nelson Semedo from Benfica in a deal worth €30m plus add-ons.

The Portugal international already played some minutes during the win over Juventus and made the starting line-up against United after being selected ahead of Aleix Vidal.

"He's trying to adapt," Valverde said when asked about Semedo's performance. "It's not easy to adapt to this style. I think that he will get it with more training. He's very strong and fast and I think he can help us. We will see how much. We also are trying the same with Aleix."

Meanwhile, Thomas Vermaelen and Munir El Haddadi also had a chance to prove themselves during the second part of against United despite having been widely tipped to leave the Nou Camp during the current transfer window. Former manager Luis Enrique sent them on loan to AS Roma and Valencia respectively last season and reports have suggested that they are not either in Valverde's plans ahead of the new campaign.

The Barcelona boss admitted that the squad will change before the end of the transfer window. Asked specifically about the potential departures of Vermaelen and Munir, he responded: "They are in the team and, for the moment, we count on them. It is true that we are in a testing period and, as the preseason progresses, we will make some decision regarding the structure of the squad."