Raphinha will be a ‘great success’ sale for Barcelona this summer, with Chelsea hoping to secure the Brazilian’s signing having missed out on him last summer.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Reports claimed that the Blues had agreed a fee with Leeds in excess of €73m, but Raphinha’s desire to instead move to Barcelona forced through a €58m move to the Nou Camp.
The 26-year-old has ten goals and 11 assists in all competitions this term, but the need to balance the books means the Catalans are more than willing to sell should they receive the right offer.
€80m is what they want for the winger and Sport (via Sport Witness) claim ‘everything indicates’ he will be a ‘great success’ sale for Barcelona in the summer.
They’re clearly confident that Chelsea, or maybe Newcastle, will stump up that fee to take the Brazilian off their hands.
His agent, Deco, is also reportedly working to convince Raphinha to listen to offers from the Premier League, and Raphinha isn’t happy it.
Addressing the rumours that Barcelona will look to offload him at the end of the season, Raphinha has said: “Fake news. Who shared that news is not well informed [and] not professional.”
Arsenal are also said to be keeping tabs on Raphinha’s situation, with both director Edu and manager Mikel Arteta thought to be big admirers, as they look for backup options for Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli at the Emirates.
Last month, journalist Pete O’Rourke claimed Raphinha “would seriously consider” joining Arsenal this summer.
“I’m sure Raphinha, if he was to leave Barcelona, Arsenal would maybe be one of the clubs that he would seriously consider, considering the project that’s going on right now at the Emirates Stadium,” O’Rourke told Give Me Sport.
“Obviously, it looks like Champions League football is going to be on offer at Arsenal and they could be Premier League title winners as well.
“So it’s an exciting project for any player that Arsenal are interested in and will boost their chances of signing their top targets. If Arsenal are playing Champions League football next season, they’re going to have to bolster their squad and Raphinha could be an astute signing.”
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