Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur have informed Leeds United they intend to make an offer for Raphinha this summer.
There have been plenty of updates regarding Raphinha’s future over the last 48 hours.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Tuesday that Arsenal had launched an opening offer for the Brazilian but he explained the bid does not come close to Leeds’ asking price and is expected to be rejected out of hand.
Ornstein also revealed that despite interest from both Arsenal and Spurs, Raphinha prefers to join either Barcelona or Chelsea over the two North London clubs.
SportItalia journalist Gianluigi Longari subsequently backed Tottenham to make an offer worth €60m (£51.5m) including add-ons for the 25-year-old. The journalist added that the Brazilian international had not made up his mind regarding his next destination.
Romano has now explained that Leeds are not going to accept Barcelona’s offer of €40/€45m (£34.3m/£38.6m) for Raphinha this summer.
He stated that Spurs have informed Leeds of their desire to make an offer while Chelsea are also exploring the situation.
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With Gabriel Jesus seemingly close to joining Arsenal, that would likely rule the Gunners out of the race for Raphinha. Barca do not seem like they can afford Leeds’ asking price. So, that would leave Chelsea and Spurs to battle it out for the 25-year-old.
However, I am not convinced that Raphinha is Tottenham’s number one target. We know that Paratici likes to negotiate for several players in each position before making a final decision. I suspect that Richarlison is the one we will end up with.
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