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West Ham were ready to pay record fee for Leeds United winger Raphinha
Leeds United have reportedly rejected an opening bid from West Ham for their star winger Raphinha.
According to reports from The Guardian, West Ham were ready to pay a club-record fee to land the Brazilian international.
As of now, it’s not clear what was their initial offer, but it looks like the Hammers did come up with a sizeable fee.
The report claims that Marcelo Bielsa is adamant that the player won’t be sold this month, and it remains to be seen whether the London club make another offer for the winger before Monday’s deadline.
No way
Raphinha has emerged as the most important player at Leeds this season following injuries to Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper.
The 25-year-old has been in dazzling form, managing eight goals and two assists.
Sky Sports have claimed that Raphinha is currently holding talks with Leeds over a contract extension, and chances are very low that the Whites will sell him unless West Ham come up with a ridiculous offer.
That being said, Leeds must try to secure at least one or two signings before the end of the window.
Adding a midfielder has resulted in a wild goose chase for the Yorkshire club, but they are trying to sign Takumi Minamino from Liverpool on loan.
Ideally, signing another striker and a defender would have been perfect, but Bielsa probably won’t entertain such ideas.
In other Whites news, Leeds United and Police set to review Elland Road ‘crush’ – report.