Man United open door to Leeds United exit for Raphinha with move for Barcelona man Frenkie de Jong
Manchester United could open the door for Leeds United to lose Raphinha to Barcelona if they manage to force a move for Frenkie de Jong.
The Catalan giants have been after the Whites star for months on the assumption that he would be available cheaply if the club were relegated from the Premier League.
After that subsequently didn’t happen it has become increasingly clear that they are not in a position to afford him.
He would have been available for around £25million if they club had gone down, but with two years left on his contract Phil Hay wrote in The Athletic on Friday (3 June) that it will take between £60million and £70million to land him now.
There currently appears to be no chance of doing that at the Camp Nou, as they have backed themselves into a corner again and are struggling to find space to register two other signings in Franck Kessié from AC Milan and Andreas Christensen from Chelsea [Sport].
La Liga president Javier Tebas has put his foot down and told them they can’t sign their other major target in Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski without selling assets [Marca].
So in that context, the talks reported in the Guardian that see the Red Devils seeking to prize Dutch midfielder de Jong out of the club to reunite him with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford could be exactly what Whites fans don’t want to see.
Positive news?
The Guardian report from Fabrizio Romano and Jamie Jackson explains that neither Barca nor de Jong particularly want the Man United move but “the Spanish club’s financial constraints [mean] the sale of a midfielder valued at about €85m (£72.4m) could be forced”.
That is exactly the sort of move that Tebas was referring to and if it comes off could ease the logjam that has built up at the Camp Nou, allowing them to plow on with their plans to take Raphinha out of Elland Road.
An injection of funds from the sale of de Jong would not automatically make the Leeds United winger’s exit inevitable.
But just when it looked like the lack of planning at Barcelona had put a stop to their hopes of signing him, the heated Premier League rivals from Old Trafford have arrived on the scene to potentially start them back up again.
It is believed that Raphinha wants to make the move, although he hasn’t caused an issue at Leeds about it.
There is an argument to say that this is actually a positive development, since the Brazil international is unlikely to stay at the club beyond the end of his current contract and he will be worth considerably less in a year’s time as he enters the last 12 months of it.
Fans surely don’t want to see him playing elsewhere in the Premier League, and Relevo reported this week that top flight suitors were moving in to take advantage of the difficulties at Barca.
If he has to go the Blaugrana move would at least stop the club from having to face their star man year after year, so if they are provided with the ability to actually pay a worthwhile fee while the player’s value is at its highest it might be best for everyone.
In other Leeds United news, hot on the heels of Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen the club have lined up another double move this summer.