According to Mundo Deportivo, Leeds United are about to send an ultimatum to Barcelona in the signing of Raphinha.
Barca were the first major club to show interest in the winger and after a long hiatus, they have returned to the forefront. While Arsenal and Chelsea are fighting for the signature of Raphinha, Barcelona have tried to stage a coup.
Raphinha has always had his heart set on joining the Camp Nou outfit and the club are using this to their advantage by trying to steal a march in this transfer race.
According to various reports, Barcelona are currently the favourite to sign the winger but Leeds United are not ready to wait any longer because they still have Arsenal and Chelsea waiting in the wings.
Leeds are about to send out a strong word to Barca because they want to wrap up this sale early so that they are able to put the transfer money to good use.
Raphinha, hoping for Barcelona move with 5 year deal ready since March – no final answer sent to Chelsea yet, waiting for Barça. 🇧🇷 #FCB
Barcelona bid last Thursday: €50m plus €10m add-ons, paid in installments.
Leeds insist they only accepted Chelsea bid for £60m, as of now. pic.twitter.com/Q3NAuW4FUA
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 1, 2022
Will Arsenal or Chelsea be able to convince Raphinha to join them?
Just a few weeks ago, Chelsea were the favourites to sign the winger but since Barcelona have reignited their interest, the Blues have fallen behind.
This report will give them a glimmer of hope but we doubt if they will go back for Raphinha because they are about to wrap up the transfer of Raheem Sterling.
It’s only a matter of time before Sterling joins Chelsea and since he can play on either wing, Thomas Tuchel has no need to sign the Leeds United man.
However, Arsenal still very much need a player like him and they have just been given a window of opportunity to try and stage a coup.
The Gunners are more than willing to meet Leeds’ transfer demands so all they have to do is to convince Raphinha to join them instead of Barcelona.
This is no doubt an uphill undertaking because journalist Gerard Romero has stated that Barcelona have almost wrapped up the signing of the winger but until they agree on a fee with Leeds United, Arsenal still have a fighting chance.
They have only signed Gabriel Jesus till now so they need at least one more quality forward to join them before the next season begins.
