Phil Hay, Michael Normanton and Dan Moylan spent some time talking about Leeds United on the latest edition of The Phil Hay Show from The Athletic and Hay shed some light on the Whites’ signing of Raphinha from Rennes during the show.
As per the BBC, Marcelo Bielsa’s side signed Raphinha on Monday, which was the Premier League’s international transfer deadline day, ‘for a fee believed to be £17m plus add-ons,’ with the Brazilian signing a four-year contract at Elland Road.
Here is what Hay had to say about this signing during the latest edition of The Phil Hay Show: “Raphinha was a very late one, he’s somebody who, from what I’m told, was a player that both Bielsa and [Victor] Orta had been tracking independently of each other.
“Orta liked him, Bielsa liked him and he was somebody that they wanted to do, but he was also somebody who they assumed wouldn’t be available and wouldn’t be on the market.
“Raphinha wanted to go and in the end, made it clear to Rennes that he did want to go and I saw the reports like everybody else on Monday saying that he’d been forced out against his will and he’d been made to leave even though he wanted to stay, but my understanding is that’s not correct.
“He was as keen to make the move as anybody else was, so it was a very late one for Leeds, one they had to get done pretty quickly [on] Saturday, Sunday and then, obviously, push through quickly on Monday.
“It’s another deal that they’re really, really happy with and again, you’re talking about somebody who’s played at a high level of a very strong European league, somebody who has all the attributes you look for in a winger; he’s two-footed, he can play on either side, he’s quick and he’s creative and has the odd goal in him as well.”
Hay later went on to discuss the player’s transfer fee and how the Whites felt about it, saying: “I think Leeds were surprised by the fee although, I was reading some quotes from the president over at Rennes today, in which he was saying that given the add-ons and the bonuses that are due and everything else, he thinks that they’ll end up in profit on this one, he doesn’t seem too concerned about that, but again, it was good value and it fell into the budget that Leeds could afford.”
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TIF Thoughts…
Judging by what Hay had to say, it seems he believes that this was a good piece of business from the Whites, with the journalist explaining that both Bielsa and Orta had identified him as a potential target before praising the player’s ability and indicating that the Whites feel they signed the player for a decent transfer fee.
As per Transfermarkt, the 23-year-old has played on both wings, as well as in central attacking positions during his career, so this versatility may be a reason why the Whites signed him.
Considering that it seems as though the Whites were quite keen on signing the Brazilian, perhaps they believe that he can be an important player for them and so, hopefully, for Leeds and for Raphinha, the 23-year-old doesn’t need too much time to adapt to life in the Premier League with his new team and he can quickly show why the Yorkshire-based club made sure that they got this deal over the line before Monday’s transfer deadline.