Pundit Paul Robinson has claimed that this is the summer to sell Raphinha as his performances have lacked quality for Leeds United this year.
Raphinha has been a constant in the Leeds starting XI this season, making 29 appearances in the Premier League, whilst scoring 10 goals and assisting three times. The Brazilian winger is Leeds’ top scorer this season.
There have been reports of a move away from Elland Road for Raphinha in the summer, with European giants Barcelona showing interest in his signature.
After the interest from several other clubs for Raphinha, Robinson spoke to MOT Leeds News and claimed that Leeds should opt to sell the winger this summer.
He said: “I don’t think they can afford to sell Raphinha and Phillips – that would be silly – but this is the summer to sell Raphinha. His performances have been indifferent and inconsistent this year.
“He’s a top player who will demand a top fee at the moment and I think that fee is best used to get in two or three players to enhance Leeds’ ability to stay in the Premier League next year.
“Raphinha has at times been a luxury player, his work rate hasn’t sometimes been there.
“We saw when Marcelo Bielsa took him off at half-time against Everton, he wasn’t in the team the week after.
“His performances haven’t been at the level they have been previously and when he’s on-song, he’s one of the best players in the league, he’s fantastic.”
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TIF Thoughts on Robinson’s comments…
Raphinha has been heavily linked with a move away from Elland Road, and although he has dropped off in terms of goals and assists in recent times, he still leads the line in terms of stats for his side. In the Premier League, he is the club’s highest goal contributor (13), has created the most big chances for his side (9) and has the highest average key passes per game (2.1), as per SofaScore.
Despite the impressive form of the Brazilian winger for Leeds this season, if the Whites are to be offered a big price for their star man, it may be a difficult one for Jesse Marsch to turn down as they could use the funds to invest in the rest of the squad.