Chelsea have stolen a march on the race to sign Raphinha from Leeds after seeing a bid accepted for the winger.
The Brazilian has attracted plenty of attention following his performances for the Elland Road outfit since his £17 million from Rennes in 2020, netting 17 goals and providing 11 assists across his two seasons in the Premier League.
The likes of Liverpool and Manchester United were linked with the 24-year-old last summer, while Barcelona and Arsenal have been most strongly linked this year.
Barcelona were thought to have agreed personal terms with the Brazil international months ago, though Leeds’ final day survival meant that they were unable to take advantage of a reported €25m relegation clause inserted in his deal with the West Yorkshire club.
La Blaugrana have a series of well-publicised financial issues at present, issues which had seen Arsenal move into pole position for his signature, with the Gunners seeing their opening offer rejected earlier this month.
However, according to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have now reached a ‘full agreement’ with Leeds, with their bid of around £60m having been accepted, with the majority of that fee set to be paid upfront.
Chelsea and Leeds have reached full agreement for Raphinha! Official bid accepted around £60/65m [add ons included]. Main part of amount to be paid immediately. It’s done between clubs. 🚨🔵 #CFC
Talks now ongoing on player side on personal terms and contract. Boehly, on it. pic.twitter.com/gNbc4HbrTa
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 28, 2022
Romano goes on to say that Arsenal submitted a new ‘verbal bid’ in recent hours, though says that has been rejected by Leeds, while Barcelona have ‘no chance’ to match the Blues’ offer.
Chelsea are now said to be working on agreeing personal terms ahead of a potential move to Stamford Bridge, with Raphinha’s agent being former Chelsea midfielder, Deco.
Should those terms be agreed, Raphinha could be one of a number of forward additions for last season’s third-placed finishers, with Man City’s Raheem Sterling and Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele having both been linked.
They could take the places of Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech, with the pair having been linked with moves to Inter and AC Milan respectively.
Chelsea have also been linked with Manchester City defender Nathan Ake as Thomas Tuchel looks to replace the departing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
