Raphinha transfer to Barcelona or Chelsea is still possible because he is not expected to travel with Leeds on their Australian pre-season trip.
The Brazilian has drawn a lot of attention after a successful two-year stay at Elland Road, where he scored an important goal in Leeds’ 2-1 victory against Brentford on the last day of the previous campaign to secure Premier League survival.
The 25-year-old has drawn intense interest from both Chelsea and Barcelona, with the latter having its £60 million offer approved by the Yorkshire club. Raphinha, who has already turned down offers from Spurs and Arsenal, has made it clear that he would like to join the Spanish giants and will reportedly hold out for a transfer to the Nou Camp.
Barcelona’s pursuit of Raphinha and top transfer target Robert Lewandowski has been slowed down by financial difficulties. Rumors have it that, the Catalan club is also eager to entice Bernardo Silva away from Manchester City.
Raphinha will not be part of Leeds United’s pre-season trip to Australia as speculation over his future increases
— Fitbaw news (@FitbawNews10) July 7, 2022
(Source : @Record_Sport ) pic.twitter.com/y3bNJ8N6cE
Next week, Leeds will embark on a pre-season tour of Australia to play against Brisbane Roar and Aston Villa; it is anticipated that Raphinha won’t be going. With Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen’s free transfers revealed this week, Barcelona has limited time to put together a stronger offer to outbid Chelsea for his services.
Chelsea are ready to add a couple of players to Thomas Tuchel’s team this summer but the Blues are yet to make a signing after the takeover of Todd Boehly.
The American billionaire purchased Chelsea from Roman Abramovich last month and he wants to make an early impact on the squad. However, the Blues have agreed on personal terms with Manchester City Raheem Sterling and the deal will be completed soon. Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling is set to become the first recruit of the Boehly-led era in a deal worth in the region of £55m.
Multiple sources have also reported that Raheem Sterling is getting ready to sell his house to Liverpool right-back Alexander Arnold as he prepares to relocate to London where his family lives.
Chelsea are also interested in signing Raheem Sterling’s teammate Nathan Ake if their deal with Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt fails.
The Blues have already submitted a bid for Matthijs de Ligt but the Dutchman prefers a move to Bayern Munich this summer. Nathan Ake seems like the next option for Thomas Tuchel but Manchester City are not ready to release the Netherlands defender.
