Leeds United have told Barcelona they will not accept anything less than €55m (£46.7m) for winger Raphinha this summer.
This is according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, who has been speaking about the Brazilian’s future on his latest Here We Go podcast.
It was an impressive 2021/22 campaign for Raphinha, who played a huge part in Leeds’ survival, with the winger picking up a lot of the goals in the absence of Patrick Bamford.
There have been strong reports over where the 25-year-old’s future may lie with Leeds only just maintaining their spot in the Premier League for next season.
Romano believes the two parties are in advanced talks over a possible move to Camp Nou for Raphinha this summer, but Leeds have set their stall out on the figure they want.
The journalist said: “Important update on Raphinha. We know that they are in very advanced talks, Raphinha and Barca, with his agent, Deco, who is really close to the president, Joan Laporta.
“But Leeds communicated to Barca that they will not accept less than [a] €55m fee for Raphinha – and not paid in so many years, in so many instalments.
“So they have to pay serious money if they want to sign Raphinha this summer, because it’s true that the player is tempted by Barca, he’s ready to find an agreement with Barca on personal terms – but it’s still not agreed with Leeds.”
TIF Thoughts on Romano’s comments…
Having had such an important campaign in front of goal for the Whites, it will obviously be difficult for fans to accept the possibility of Raphinha leaving.
Would you sell Raphinha for this proposed fee?
Yes
No
However, should Barcelona match Leeds’ demands, they would be getting a reasonable amount of money for the Brazilian, which would be almost triple what they originally bought him for in 2020.
But if he is to be sold, there will be a huge emphasis on Leeds providing Jesse Marsch with at least one adequate replacement, with 13 Premier League goal involvements instantly removed from his options.