Chelsea are reportedly showing a strong interest in a potential transfer deal for Leeds United winger Raphinha next summer.
The Brazil international has been a revelation in his time at Elland Road, with his skill, flair and eye for goal making him a big hit in the Premier League.
One imagines Raphinha will soon feel he could make the step up to a bigger club, and it seems he won’t be short of offers in the near future.
Chelsea are the latest name to be linked with Raphinha, with SportItalia TV reporter Gianluigi Longari claiming in the tweet below that the Blues are very keen on the 25-year-old and could be one of several top clubs chasing him next summer…
Also #Chelsea have strong interest in #Leeds winger #Raphinha. Blues are working for next summer, as many others top clubs around the Europe. #CFC @tvdellosport #LUFC
— Gianluigi Longari (@Glongari) December 26, 2021
One other team to be recently linked with Raphinha is Liverpool, with the Reds mentioned as being keen on either him or West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen in a recent report from the Liverpool Echo.
It may well be that if Chelsea sign Raphinha, then Liverpool could simply go for Bowen instead, and there’s no doubt that the Hammers ace would be a fine alternative.
However, Chelsea have also long been linked with Bowen’s West Ham team-mate Declan Rice, as per football.london and others, and if the west London giants manage to sign both Raphinha and Rice, it could be a big problem for Liverpool.
None of this is certain, of course, but if Chelsea do bring Rice to Stamford Bridge, one imagines West Ham would bring in huge money from his sale, and would therefore be a lot less likely to cash in on Bowen, as they won’t want to lose two star players in quick succession.
It is therefore surely vital that LFC can win the race for Raphinha’s signature, or else they’ll just have to hope Chelsea don’t end up signing Rice.
Then again, Rice is also a target for Manchester United, according to the Independent, so that could be another reason that Bowen won’t be available.
All in all, this could get very tricky for Liverpool at a time when they urgently need to be strengthening in attack, with Sadio Mane not getting any younger, and Mohamed Salah heading towards the final year of his contract at Anfield.