Chelsea have reached an agreement worth £60-£65 million with Leeds for the signing of highly-rated winger Raphinha. Arsenal and Barcelona were on the trail of the Brazilian but may have lost out in the race for the forward.
Following the near-miss of a top-four finish last season, Arsenal have started working the market for reinforcements to bolster their squad ahead of next season. The Gunners were narrowly beaten to fourth place by city rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
It’s been a while since the north London club featured in the Champions League. It will be the focus this season, and the team has started work towards it. The signing of Fabio Vieira from Porto for £34.2 million and Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City for £45 million sends a strong message of intention from Mikel Arteta ahead of the new season.
Arsenal are in pursuit of a third marquee signing but may have been beaten to the punch by city-rivals Chelsea. The West London club are having personnel issues and looking to mitigate these problems by signing quality players. The Gunners have been pursuing Raphinha, but reports suggest they are out of the race, with Chelsea agreeing on a deal with Leeds United.
Blues beat Gunners to Raphinha
While Arsenal were doodling over the signing of Raphinha, Chelsea quickly moved in to steal the signing right from under their nose. Reports suggest Chelsea have now agreed on terms with Leeds for the Brazilian.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea finalized agreements with Leeds United and are due to negotiate terms with Raphinha to conclude the deal.
Arsenal seemed ahead of all interested parties as they sought to bring the Brazilian winger to the Emirates. The Gunners saw their bid rejected on each occasion as it fell short of their valuation. Reports now prove that Raphinha is heading to London, but not north of the city. Chelsea seem to have made a breakthrough in negotiations with Leeds United.
The high profile of Raphinha
Is it surprising that Raphinha has attracted massive interest from elite clubs this summer? Probably not. The Brazilian has enjoyed a steady rise since arriving in England from Stade Rennais in 2020. He had a stellar 2021/22 season where he scored 11 goals and produced three assists in the Premier League. The contribution of the Brazilian was essential to Leeds United retaining their Premier League status in the 2021/22 campaign,
Raphinha was able to earn himself a place on the Brazil national team. He has made nine appearances for Brazil since his debut in October last year. Tite publicly thanked Marcelo Bielsa for his work with the winger. With the World Cup in view, Tite would expect Raphinha to continue in this vein as Brazil pursues a sixth World Cup win.
The rise of Raphinha should continue, especially with a move to a high-profile club. Joining Chelsea would afford him the opportunity of playing in the Champions League. According to Romano, the move to Chelsea is nearly done. The next stage of negotiations will be with the player and his representatives. Former Chelsea midfielder Deco represents Raphinha.
The tale is not yet done, with plenty of work still to be done, but Chelsea now lead the race to sign Raphinha this summer.
