Barcelona sporting director Mateu Alemany ‘will fly to England for talks over a possible move for Raphinha this week’… as LaLiga side aim to steal a march on Liverpool for Leeds star
Barcelona are hoping to swoop quickly for Leeds midfielder RaphinhaMateu Alemany is aiming to beat Liverpool to the Brazilian’s signatureBarca are looking for a replacement for the departing Ousmane DembeleThe two sides are currently far away in valuation, with Leeds asking for £55m
Barcelona sporting director Mateu Alemany is set to fly to England this week for talks with Leeds about a possible deal for Brazillian forward Raphinha.
The Spanish side are on the lookout for a replacement for departing Frenchman Ousmane Dembele, and are aiming to hijack any interest from Liverpool.
According to SPORT, Alemany will make the journey to England this week to try and move talks forward with the transfer window starting to take shape across Europe.
Raphinha has enjoyed a successful two years in the Premier League with Leeds United
Raphinha (right) has recently broken into the Brazil squad at international level
Although Barcelona are hoping to get a deal done quickly for Raphinha, 25, the two teams are currently quite far apart in their valuations of the player.
If Leeds had been relegated, a way out of Elland Road would have been simple for Raphinha, with a release clause set at £21.5million if the Yorkshire outfit were to be playing in the Championship next season.
But new manage Jesse Marsch managed to keep them afloat, and now it is thought that Leeds will ask for as much as £55million for their star man.
Barcelona are hoping to pay no more than £35million to sign Raphinha, so could offer players such as Oscar Mingueza as part of the deal.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are also interested…