Fabrizio Romano: Chelsea target Raphinha is heading to Barcelona.
According to Football.London, Chelsea are set to go head to head against Barcelona in their pursuit of Leeds United winger Raphinha.
The Brazilian joined the Peacocks back in 2020 and has gone on to establish himself as one of the best wingers in the Premier League. Raphinha helped the Elland Road outfit stay up this season following a 2-1 win over Brentford on the final day of the season.
The 25-year-old has played 36 games for Jesse March’s side this season scoring 11 goals and providing three assists across all competitions. His amazing performances have earned him a truly deserved Brazil National team call up and he has gone on to play seven games, impressing them all.
Barcelona are said to be leading the race for Raphinha at the moment but with a deal yet to be closed, the Blues could still have a chance to hijack the operation and convince the Brazilian to move to Stamford Bridge. It would be a shot in the arm as Thomas Tuchel looks to rejig his Blues roster.
Whilst Raphinha is undoubtedly quality and has what it takes to succeed at Chelsea, there is a question of whether the Blues actually need a winger this summer.
Chelsea have a plethora of options to play on the wing with Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, and Callum Hudson-Odoi all capable of playing on either wing. Unless one of these players were to leave, it does not make sense to bring in another winger.
The Blues have other positions to focus on this summer, especially in defence where they are set to have a lot of exits. Investing to reinforce the team in these areas is more important for Chelsea than signing a winger at the moment, especially with no major attacker likely to leave.
Barcelona are said to be far ahead in the race for the Brazilian and it is best that the Blues do not get into a transfer battle with the Spanish giants. We have bigger fish to fry this summer and our complete focus must be on building a competitive squad for next season.
Raphinha is a great player but he should not be our focus right now. It remains to be seen what Chelsea decides to do though.
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