Chelsea look likely to miss out on Raphinha. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
According to the Spanish publication Sport (h/t The Sun), Chelsea have been dealt a transfer blow as Barcelona have reached a personal agreement with Leeds United attacker Raphinha. He has been one of the best players in his position at Leeds for a while and seems to be in line to leave his club this summer.
The Brazilian has a contract with Leeds until 2024, but he is expected to depart his side at the end of this season. His club was eager to tie him down on a new deal, but he has rejected the latest proposal. Barca have taken advantage of this situation and have found common ground with the winger ahead of a summer transfer.
The Blaugrana side has agreed to terms with the 25-year-old over a five-year contract and has tabled an initial bid of £29million to the Whites as well. The Spanish side enjoyed an edge over the competitors as the forward’s agent, Deco, played with them in the past and is also currently a scout for them in South America.
This supposed deal is, of course, not yet a done deal as the Catalans are yet to agree to the transfer fees with Jesse Marsch’s side. Moreover, the English side is currently keeping a firm stance that his £70million release clause must be activated. As such, we can use that to make a final stand and make our case for signing the Premier League attacker.
It would not be easy at all, with the Whites ace already having made up his mind according to the piece of information stated above. However, there is always a possibility that he can change his stance in the future, so we should not give up just yet. That being said, we must be wary of Liverpool, who are also keeping tabs on his situation.
However, the sanctions imposed on Thomas Tuchel’s side prevent them from engaging in transfer dealings, which would be another blow for us. After all, we would be forced to solve this ownership uncertainty before setting things up for a potential move. Hence, we must take care of that matter as soon as possible so as not to lose out on our targets.
Since the Brazil international has already refused to sign an offer from his current club that would have doubled his wages, it’s not wrong to take that as an indication that he is looking to leave them after all. Currently, we have ample forwards in our ranks but a player like Raphinha is certainly someone we would be wise to not say no to.
Only time will tell us an answer on whether we can retaliate and pip the La Liga club in the process to strike a deal with the West Yorkshire-based club. If we miss out on him, it would, however, not be the end of the world for us.
We have the likes of Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Hakim Ziyech, and Mason Mount who can play out wide for us. But those who have watched the ex-Stade Rennais winger in action would know that he has the quality to represent a team like Chelsea and take their attacking depth to another level.
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