Paul Merson shares verdict on Raphinha’s Leeds future
Paul Merson believes Raphinha will leave Leeds this summer regardless of if they stay in the Premier League, amid interest from Barcelona.
The Brazilian winger has been linked with a big-money move to the Camp Nou during the summer, with Sport reporting a five-year-deal has already been agreed between the two parties.
Leeds are adamant they won’t sell on the cheap though, although the player does have a £25m relegation release clause, but Merson told Sportskeeda that he will leave anyway because of the charm Barcelona have with foreign players.
“Raphinha is a player who has generated a lot of transfer talk in recent weeks, with Barcelona reportedly interested in snapping him up this summer,” he said.
“I think he’ll leave Leeds regardless of what happens – he’s capable of playing for any of the big boys in the Premier League.
“Real Madrid and Barcelona still have the charm when it comes to foreign players – when either of the two clubs come for a player, they inevitably end up getting them.”
Clear
There’s no smoke without fire, and there is plenty of smoke with this reported Raphinha move to the Catalan club.
At this moment in time it does seem as though Raphinha has outgrown Leeds, with the 25-year-old more than capable of turning out for some of the top clubs on the continent and Leeds cannot compete with that.
Unfortunately that means the Whites are going to be tasked with replacing their best player in the summer, but their chances will be boosted massively if they stay in the Premier League.
It means they can demand a much bigger fee and with that cash they can attract some bigger names to perform at the same level as Raphinha does.
There are other areas to address in the squad whether they’re playing in the top flight or not, but his inevitable departure means it is a priority and one fans must accept is bound to happen.
In other Leeds news, ‘Not out of the woods yet’ – Ally McCoist makes Leeds relegation pick, impressed by one man