Arsenal are the latest club to be credited with an interest in Leeds United winger Raphinha. They join Barcelona and a number of their Premier League rivals in the hunt for the 25-year-old whose future is very much up in the air.
It looked as though a Camp Nou switch would be forthcoming this summer, regardless of if the Whites were able to stay in the Premier League on the final day. Although, the financial problems faced by Barca indicate that they don’t quite have the money that Leeds are expecting to bring in for their prized asset.
Those issues with money are not the same in the Premier League and the Gunners are likely to be able to meet the price tag set on Raphinha. According to The Telegraph, they are now in the hunt for the Brazil international.
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The transfer plan at the Emirates seems clear this summer as proven Premier League players make up the full list of their reported targets. So far, they have been heavily linked with Leicester’s Youri Tielemans as well as Manchester City pair Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
While Mikel Arteta’s side were not quite able to hang onto their place in the top four, they do still have European football to offer Raphinha. They will go into next season’s Europa League as one of the favourites to pick up the trophy after finishing fifth behind arch-rivals Tottenham.
The €55m price tag that Leeds have reportedly communicated to Barcelona may well have a premium added to it for interested Premier League teams. Those in charge of transfers at Elland Road certainly won’t be too keen to sell to another English side in the knowledge of just how destructive he could be against the Whites.
