Journalist Charles Watts has recently claimed that Arsenal fans should stay positive on the club singing Raphinha, as most deals for players do not get done this early in the transfer window – and the Gunners are interested.
Mikel Arteta’s side recently announced a major summer signing, with Porto’s Fabio Vieira joining the club last week for a reported £34.2m, and it does not look like the north London outfit is done there.
One big target the club has been linked with so far this summer is Leeds United star winger Raphinha, who is set to move away from the club amid rumours of strong interest from Barcelona, but Leeds are set on their price for the player and have rejected a bid from their Premier League rivals.
Watts believes Arsenal fans should stay positive the club can capture the £40.5m-rated star, as deals like this do not usually get done so early in the window and if the bid was accepted, it could have indicated that the club had overpaid for the player.
He said: “That has moved forward in the last sort of day or so, a bid now has gone in for [Raphinha].
“Not sure on the actual figures yet, that hasn’t come out, but it wasn’t enough, Leeds have rejected it. But I don’t think that’s the end of the story. If you put a bid in for a player this early in the window and it gets accepted straight away, you’ve probably bid a little bit too much, to be fair.
“I can’t imagine this is just going to be one bid and then Arsenal are going to accept defeat and go away and look at other players. They are certainly going to remain interested in Raphinha, he is a player they want, he is a player Mikel Arteta wants, and it’s just a case of seeing what they can get done with Leeds.”
TIF Thoughts on Raphinha to Arsenal…
Arsenal need to continue to make positive signings this transfer window if they are to compete with the top four of Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur, as most of these clubs have already made huge summer signings. Vieira was a good start, although he is mostly an unknown product so early in his career, while Raphinha has perhaps shown enough in the Premier League to suggest he can take them a step closer to a Champions League spot.
The Brazilian international was impressive last season with 11 goals in the top flight, topping the charts for the Whites as they narrowly survived the drop. He averaged 2.5 shots, 1.9 key passes, 1.8 dribbles, 1.6 long balls and 1.5 tackles per game, while ranking in the 91st percentile for blocks and the 90th for progressive carries per game, according to FBRef.
It is unclear how much Leeds are going to end up accepting for their key man, but rumours of up to £60m are what it could cost to tempt them. And despite the high price, Arsenal need to add depth and talent to their attacking line ahead of next season following their shortcomings in the previous campaign, and the stats suggest Raphinha could improve this.
Will Arsenal sign Raphinha?No
Yes
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