Barcelona is allegedly keeping eyes on the development of Raphinha, a 24-year-old Brazilian attacker who might be on the verge of joining them in the future.
Spanish news source Fichajes reported on Wednesday that Barcelona’s hunt for an attacking midfielder has brought the club into contact with a player from England’s Premier League. A move for Leeds United forward Raphinha has been targeted by the Catalan giants for a possible transfer in a future transfer window.
Raphinha joined Leeds United from Stade Rennais in the summer of 2020. That was after a strong season with the French club. It was during which he was named player of the year. The Brazilian winger’s transfer to the Premier League has proven to be a fruitful one for the Whites. They have benefited from his early contributions to the club’s success.
Raphinha in once again on the radar of Barcelona
After a promising first season in 2020/21, the 24-year-old has established himself as one of Leeds’ few regular players at the start of this season. He has scored three goals in six games thus far. Invariably, his development has attracted the attention of some of the most powerful teams in Europe. Barcelona is the most recent to join the fray in pursuit of the youngster.
Barcelona seems to be on the lookout for a wide offensive reinforcement, despite the fact that they have made as many as three additions to their attacking unit this season. The reason why the Catalan giants want to acquire a winger as soon as possible becomes apparent, though, when you take a deeper look at the situation.
Apart from the new signing Memphis Depay, Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele are the only other natural wide attackers at Ronald Koeman’s disposal. Yusuf Demir is now making his way up the ranks. That was after initially being assigned to Barcelona B. Barcelona, on the other hand, are continually shortchanged in the offensive area. That is, as a result of Dembele’s fitness issues.
Can the Catalan side sign the Leeds midfielder now?
Due to this, Barcelona has been exploring the prospect of acquiring a winger. Players such as Antony, Lorenzo Insigne, and Ferran Torres are among those who have been identified as potential candidates. Raphinha, who is 24 years old, is also being carefully scrutinised at the moment. The youngster continues to amaze one and all in the top flight of English football.
Indeed, Raphinha made an impact for Leeds United in their 2-1 loss to West Ham United last Saturday. It was a result that meant the Whites were still looking for their first Premier League victory of the season at the time of writing. That being said, it remains to be seen if Barcelona will maintain their interest in the 24-year-old Brazilian striker. Or whether they would choose to acquire someone else to bolster their attacking options.
While Raphinha (£6.5m) returned from a hip injury to play and score in Leeds United’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham United, the Brazilian midfielder was forced off with a head injury halfway through the second half. He was afterwards seen with ice on his legs on the visitors’ bench.
The Brazilian put in his best performance of the season against the Hammers. There should have been more rewards to go along with it. Only the width of the post denied him a second first-half goal. Mateusz Klich (£5.5m) squandered an excellent opportunity that Raphinha had set up for him after the break.
There are some enticing matches ahead for the Brazilian. That will be beginning with a home encounter against a Watford team. The team has yet to keep a clean sheet this season. He is almost certainly a ‘hold’ if he is cleared to play in Gameweek 7.
