Barcelona representative to meet Leeds United officials next week to discuss Raphinha transfer
Barcelona’s director of football will be travelling to England in the coming days to discuss the signing of Leeds United star winger Raphinha, according to the Spanish media outlet Sport.
The Brazil international has been linked with a move away from the club in the summer transfer window the Catalan club is one of the big names associated with interest in acquiring his services.
As per the latest report, Mateu Alemany is travelling next week to discuss the signing of the 25-year-old.
Leeds’ Premier League safety has made the task for the other clubs of signing their star player a lot tougher as they are now demanding a fee in the region of £60 million to let Raphinha in the summer.
Sport adds that Angus Kinnear isn’t happy with the “pause” in negotiations as Barca watched how Leeds’ season unfolded as they could have signed him for less if the Whites were relegated.
Raphinha was one of the standout players in the 2021-22 season for Leeds United. In a season that was extremely disappointing, the Brazilian stepped up and delivered crucial performances to ensure their Premier League safety.
The former Sporting Lisbon man scored 11 goals and provided three assists in the recently concluded season.
Now, whether his performances guarantee him a place in the Brazilian World Cup squad is another thing but he has definitely shown that he belongs to that elite level of players in the world of football.
The biggest reason why Barcelona are pushing to sign him is that they don’t have a left-footed player after the departure of Lionel Messi who can play on the right wing, create goals and score some worldies as well.
However, with two years left on his current deal, Leeds should ensure that either he won’t leave at all or if he does, the Whites must recoup a handsome fee as it will be extremely hard to replace a player like him in the future.
In other Leeds United news, a player has jetted back into the UK from Dubai after making a decision on a move to Leeds.