Neymar Switches To White Nike Prototype
Nike's endless design stream has a huge bearing and influence on the future of boot design, so when one of their leading assets turns up to training wearing a mystery white-out prototype cleat, it's time to pay attention.
Brazilian superstar Neymar has become one of the most talked about players in world football, destined for a big future in the game, you can understand Nike are keen to make their fleet-footed and skilful forward the lead face of one of their boot ranges.
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Not for the first time this year, Nike have out-fitted Neymar with a mystery boot silo, a boot that's caused some puzzlement in the boots community due to the look and the timing. We know these aren't the new Mercurial IX, those images have been leaked and worn by some Chinese professionals, we also now know these are not the GS2, which means we are looking at a brand new and unique boot in development.
What can we learn from the images of Neymar in testing then? The one feature that instantly catches the eye is the heavily dimpled texture on the upper. We expect Nike to bring something similar to the Nike Vapor IX next year, but to a far lesser extent. The distinctive divots wrap around the entire upper and share similarities to what you'd see on match footballs and golf balls.
This second edition of the prototype footwear reveals a second outsole. Previously we'd been intrigued by the asymmetrically-placed, rounded studs on a newly constructed figure-of-eight style outsole. But this secondary sole-unit features a mixed-stud combination, which appears to incorporate blades and so is potentially still a work in progress.
Let us know what you think we're looking at here, and do you like the look of Neymar's new boots? Join in the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.
