Leeds United star Raphinha is still waiting on a potential transfer to Barcelona, but Chelsea have not been ruled out either.
The Brazil international has impressed during his time at Elland Road, and looks like he could be a fine acquisition for a top six Premier League club, or a major European giant.
Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Raphinha’s situation, explaining in his exclusive CaughtOffside column on Substack that the 25-year-old has still not rejected a move to Stamford Bridge.
This is encouraging for Chelsea, as it also seems that Barca still have to check if they can actually afford a move for Raphinha.
“At the moment, the Raphinha race is between Chelsea and Barcelona. Barca know that the player is waiting for them; Raphinha is waiting but has not yet rejected Chelsea because it all depends on Barca,” Romano writes.
“The Catalan giants are checking internally whether they can sign both Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha or not. Both players are waiting.
“Barca have improved their verbal proposal to Leeds during this week, but Leeds have only a full deal with Chelsea so far. The Blues have met Leeds’ £60million asking price, so are in a good position to get this deal done if Barca cannot.”
Raphinha looks perfect for Chelsea to come in as an upgrade on Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, and Christian Pulisic, though Barcelona could also do with strengthening in that department amid uncertainty over Ousmane Dembele’s future.