Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Tottenham are ‘absolutely’ in the race for Raphinha and the Leeds winger will take a few days to make a decision on his future.
The Raphinha transfer saga has developed considerably over the last few days, with the likes of Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona thought to be battling it out for the Leeds star (Gianluigi Longari).
The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Tuesday that Arsenal had launched an opening offer for the Brazilian but explained the bid had been rejected out of hand.
The journalist further added that the 25-year-old preferred to join Barcelona but the Catalan club’s pursuit of the winger had been complicated by their financial problems.
Fabrizio Romano revealed a couple of days ago that Spurs had informed Leeds that they intend to make a bid for the Brazilian international while The Daily Mail reported that an offer from Antonio Conte’s men for Raphinha could be forthcoming this week.
Romano has now offered a more detailed explanation of the situation at present, explaining that Leeds want at least £65m for the winger and that the race is still very much wide open.
He told CaughtOffside: “The Raphinha situation is truly one of the craziest in recent years. Barcelona have had an agreement with the Brazilian on personal terms since late February, but the idea of offering €40m is far from the demands of Leeds who want at least £65m.
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“Arsenal have made a first offer turned down by Leeds, while Tottenham are preparing a proposal and Chelsea have explored the situation with a direct call from Todd Boehly.
“Raphinha had given his ok to Barcelona as a priority for months but is now really open to listening to English clubs. The decision will take a few days.
“In my opinion, it would be nice to keep seeing him in the Premier League and there is a very good chance for that to happen: for example, I know that Arteta is really in love with Raphinha, but Tottenham and Chelsea are absolutely in the race.”
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With Arsenal seemingly on the verge of landing Jesus, that would likely rule them out of the race for Raphinha while it does not look likely that Barca are going to meet Leeds’ valuation.
So, the race for the 25-year-old could come down to Spurs and Chelsea. I still suspect that Tottenham are more likely to spend £50m plus on a versatile forward like Richarlison than a wide player like the Leeds star.
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