Leeds United have a “real player” on their hands in Raphinha, says former Whites midfielder David Norris.
Prior to Leeds’ Premier League outing against Southampton, Raphinha starred for Brazil during the international break.
The £28.8m-rated attacker made his debut for the five-time World Cup winners versus Venezuela, providing two assists in a 3-1 win before going on to put Uruguay to the sword by scoring a brace.
Is Raphinha one of Brazil's best players?
Yes
No
There was a 0-0 draw with Colombia sandwiched in between, where Raphinha was not as impactful, but he will be pleased overall with his contribution to Brazil’s latest round of World Cup qualifiers.
On the former Rennes man, Norris exclusively told TIF:
“To go international and to be Brazilian and go and stand out like he has… he’s been brilliant.
“The way, you know, the first game was going, Brazil were struggling a little bit and he certainly came on and just changed the whole game.
“Now he’s doing it at international level just shows that we’ve got a real player on our hands.”
Raphinha’s performances are undoubtedly going to attract attention, with the player’s agent Deco confirming that Liverpool are interested in him.
Marcelo Bielsa, of course, will be desperate to keep hold of the Brazilian attacker. But if he keeps this up, you would expect the bids to come flying in.