Chelsea & Newcastle monitoring Raphinha as Barcelona may be forced into selling Brazilian winger this summer
- South American moved to Camp Nou in 2022
- Previously starred in English football for Leeds
- Blaugrana need to raise funds from sales
WHAT HAPPENED? The Brazil international winger bid farewell to English football in the summer of 2022 when securing a £50 million ($61m) transfer from Leeds to Camp Nou. He endured a slow start to life in Catalunya, but has been a match-winning presence for Barca in recent weeks.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Raphinha has been making the most of Ousmane Dembele’s injury-enforced absence and now boasts eight goals and nine assists through 36 appearances in the 2022-23 campaign. Those exploits are, according to Sport, attracting admiring glances from Stamford Bridge and St James’ Park.
AND WHAT'S MORE: Barcelona remain under pressure to raise funds in the transfer market and will look to offload a number of players in the summer of 2023. Their preference would be to avoid parting with Raphinha, as he begins to show what he is capable of, but offers may have to be listened to for any saleable assets.
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WHAT NEXT? Barca believe they would make money on Raphinha if he were to move on and, with Arsenal and Chelsea having both being heavily linked with the South American in the recent past, interest from the Premier League is expected to mount in the coming months.