Barcelona have reportedly lowered their asking price for Brazilian winger Raphinha after the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea previously failed to sign him.
The former Leeds United ace has not lived up to expectations since moving to the Nou Camp in the summer of 2022, and it’s fair to say his future now looks to be in some doubt.
There were already murmurings about Arsenal last January, while Chelsea also came close to signing him before he opted to join Barca before the start of last season, according to Football Transfers, who claim his asking price has now fallen to just €70million.
It seems Arsenal showed an interest in Raphinha almost a year ago and were put off his €100m asking price at that time, so this could be an opportunity to get this deal done for a more reasonable price.
Arsenal could surely do with some backup for Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, but one imagines it would be hard to Raphinha to establish himself as a starter at the Emirates Stadium, so he may favour other options.
Chelsea, by contrast, might still be keen to make changes to their attack after an inconsistent start to the season, though it’s also fair to say that they’re showing signs of improvement recently, so might feel they can step back from their heavy spending.