Raphinha set to join Bayern Munich from Leeds United in January for £42million
Leeds United forward Raphinha will join Bayern Munich in January in a £42million deal, according to TNT Sports Brazil.
The youth club of the 25-year-old, Avai, will pocket £1.3million as part of the deal, and that is all the info provided by journalist Bruno Formiga.
Raphinha joined Leeds from Rennes in the summer of 2020 for £17million, and it appears he could be moving on in the coming weeks for almost triple of that.
TNT posted the exclusive on their Twitter account on Christmas Eve, saying: “According to Bruno Formiga, Raphinha will leave Leeds for Bayern in the next window, and the values are around €50million.
“A trainer club, Avaí already has its share in the negotiation, which should be €1.5 million in next year’s budget.”
Believable?
It remains to be seen whether a deal has indeed been agreed between Bayern and Leeds for Raphinha, but a January exit has never appeared to be on the cards.
He has been one of the Whites’ most important and influential players from the very moment he arrived at Elland Road, and they cannot afford to lose him midway through the 2021-22 campaign.
The South American has bagged eight league goals and an assist so far this term, and is the major reason Leeds are not neck-deep into relegation right now.
While £42million is a decent fee, it is just almost impossible to believe that the west Yorkshire outfit would agree to a winter transfer window deal.
A summer deal would be understandable given that he would love to play Champions League football and challenge for silverware as opposed to fight for relegation or finish in mid-table with Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
Should Raphinha leave Leeds next month, the club could struggle to stay up given how crucial he has been to their attack, and fans will be hoping this rumour is far from the truth.
It is the last thing they want right now, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming days and weeks as light gets shone on this particular news.
In other Leeds United news, Whites chiefs recently jetted out of the UK for talks.