Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has been sharing his praise for Leeds United winger Raphinha.
This comes after Merson recently made an appearance on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday programme where he discussed a number of topics concerning the Premier League and its clubs.
On the subject of Raphinha, Merson had this to say about the Brazilian.
He said: “He is a very good player. To be fair, he’s come in and he’s done well, and straight away he’s hit the ground running.
“He looks a good footballer. He’s full of energy, he’s got a [good] work ethic as well where he works for the team, he just does everything right.
“I’m a big fan of his and the recruitment there to find that player, because for £17 million, there will be people now scratching their head going ‘why didn’t we get him?’”
Leeds signed the winger back in October last year from French side Stade Rennais for a fee of £16.72 million. Since then, the 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £16.2 million, has made 15 appearances for Marcelo Bielsa’s side prior to their league clash against Leicester City, in which he has managed to score three goals and provide three assists along the way (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Paul Merson’s comments on Raphinha…
Given how the winger recently grabbed himself another league goal in Leeds’ previous league match against Newcastle United and has earned himself a solid season rating of 6.94/10, it’s understandable why Merson has been speaking so highly of Raphinha and his recent form for the Yorkshire club.
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In our view, given how well he has settled in at the club and has been a regular player in the league for Leeds, this shows just how much of a successful signing he has been for the team so far – and is well on the way to paying off the transfer fee which has been dwarfed by other top-flight moves in recent months.