Edu has been told how Arsenal can beat Chelsea to the signing of Raphinha as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his attacking options ahead of next season. The 25-year-old has been heavily linked with an exit from Elland Road, and a handful of sides have reportedly registered their interest.
Raphinha, who has emerged as one of Europe's most coveted winger's lately, featured 35 times for Leeds United in the Premier League this season, directly contributing towards 14 goals. His impressive displays steered Jesse Marsch's side clear of relegation from the top-flight, securing the club at least a further £35million windfall this summer.
According to Fabrizio Romano, there was a secret clause in Raphinha's contract that is dependent on whether Leeds were relegated or not. Had the Yorkshire-based club been relegated, it would have reportedly activated a £25million release clause.
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But, with Leeds evading the drop, the Brazil international is said to have a £75million release clause. And, while Arteta is keen for Edu to spend big this summer, the Gunners are reportedly obliged to sanction several player sales in order to garner a transfer war chest.
One of whom is Nicolas Pepe, according to the Mirror. The report claims that the north London outfit will not throw their hat in the ring to sign Raphinha until the Ivorian winger is moved on.
The 27-year-old, who swapped the Stade Pierre-Mauroy for the Emirates Stadium in 2019 for a record-breaking £72million fee, is believed to be keen to depart London Colney this summer, though a move is dependant on what Arsenal deem to be a fair asking price. With a difficult task at hand, Pepe is valued at £25.8million by CIES Football Observatory.
Despite Raphinha's reported release clause, the Mirror add that Leeds boss Marsch is expected to not permit the talisman's departure for anything less than £60million. Arteta is said to be hoping that a large portion of that fee would be generated from the sale of Pepe, offering a slight hint into what the north Londoners value him at.
Regardless of whether Arsenal sign Raphinha, the Gunners boss is eager to welcome several notable signing. When asked if he expects another busy transfer window in terms of player recruitment, he said: "I am expecting so, yes. I think both competitions [the Champions League and Europa League] require a much larger squad because the amount of games you play is much bigger in both, so I don’t think [which you qualify for] makes a lot of difference or changes a lot.
"If you can financially afford it and we don’t have to do the turnaround in the squad that we’ve had to do, if you ask me what I want it’s 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers. You have to come a long way in the aspects that you see on the pitch, it’s a lot of things that have to be put in place, and that takes time."
