Chelsea and Liverpool have both held talks with the agent of Leeds winger Raphinha, according to reports in the Catalan media.
Barcelona are believed to be frontrunners for the Brazilian at the moment, but they are aware of interest from the two Premier League clubs.
While some supporters on Twitter have questioned Chelsea’s involvement, due to the sanctions imposed on the club, others are hoping that the situation may change before the summer so they can go after Raphinha:
Prob we’re still sanctioned 💔
— Hakim Ziyech ll (@Asivert3) March 23, 2022
Barcelona seem to be ahead. Unless reports are false
— given sidney (@subzero_train) March 23, 2022
Ofcourse we have a higher chance of getting him than Liverpool unless he doesn’t mind warming the bench
— Bazenga (@GibsonKoech0) March 23, 2022
If Deco is his handler then he’s coming to Chelsea with 65% no doubt
— A W W A L 🕘 (@AwwaLIsah_) March 23, 2022
Could be a real signing for us
— Ikechukwu Stan (@Stanford_CFC) March 23, 2022
He would rather go to Chelsea than stay on bench at Liverpool
— OMO😜 (@Firstborn405) March 23, 2022
We’ve been talking with the agent before the sanctions
— Delvis🤑💫💜❤️💙 (@Delvis234) March 23, 2022
Am worried he is heading to Barca…because of our sanctions.
— Alex (@AlexMac21592488) March 23, 2022
Fabrizio Romano has said that the Blues were leading the race for Raphinha before the club’s ownership crisis so there is no reason why they cannot revive their interest in the 25-year-old if the takeover goes ahead as planned next month.
Raphinha’s agent is former Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Deco so that should help talks go smoothly but it’s probably not wise to look too far ahead when it comes to transfers considering the club’s current predicament.
