According to The Athletic, the race to sign Leeds United star Raphinha in the summer transfer window has further heated up as Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal have joined Barcelona in pursuit of the Brazilian. Raphinha has been a big hit in the Premier League since joining Leeds United from Rennes in the summer of 2020. The 25-year-old has been critical to the Whites maintaining their status as a top-flight club in both seasons he has been at the club. So far, Raphinha has chalked up a tally of 17 goals and 12 assists from 67 games for Leeds.
However, the Brazilian international harbours hopes of playing European football, something that Leeds United cannot offer. And clubs are now lining up to sign Raphinha in the summer, with the Yorkshire outfit open to sanctioning a sale as long as their demands are met. Barcelona have shown the strongest interest in Raphinha so far as they look at the 25-year-old as a long-term replacement for Ousmane Dembele. With the Frenchman’s contract expiring in two weeks, he is set to depart as a free agent. And the Blaugrana have narrowed in on Raphinha as their preferred option to take over from Dembele.
However, Barcelona’s current financial situation prevents them from going all-out in pursuit of Raphinha, despite the player’s keenness to join the club. It has left the door open for other outfits to make a move to land the winger, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur entering the fray to sign him. Arsenal are in the market for attacking reinforcements this summer. A centre-forward is at the top of the shopping list for the Gunners, but Mikel Arteta is also keen on adding a wide player amid question marks over the future of Nicolas Pepe and their overreliance on Bukayo Saka, despite signing young Marquinhos.