Barcelona winger Raphinha does not want to leave the club ahead of the next season despite interest from Arsenal, Tottenham and the Saudi clubs, according to Spanish publication Sport.
Forbes revealed in February that Spurs had already made a £60m bid for the former Leeds United winger. Raphinha is considered one of the more sellable assets by the Spanish club amidst their financial troubles.
Barcelona might be required to make a sale this summer and instead of parting ways with regular starters like Pedri, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong or Gavi, they would prefer to sell a fringe player like Raphinha. Despite signing for the club only in the summer of 2022, the Brazilian winger has fallen down the pecking order.
The reason for Raphinha’s situation at Barcelona is more so the circumstances than his own doing. The arrival of Lamine Yamal and the prodigious talent that he possesses has seen Xavi Hernandez make the 16-year-old his first choice on the right wing.
Could Raphinha be forced out?
Although Barcelona fans might not have taken to Raphinha as a Culer, he has 37 goal contributions in 78 games for the club. That is almost a goal contribution every second game which is not a bad record to have.
Raphinha’s situation has alerted clubs here in the Premier League. As well as Tottenham, the report says Arsenal are also showing an interest in bringing the South American back to England this summer.
However, the North London giants face a battle to lure him back to these shores as Sport says Raphinha is showing no intention to leave Barcelona any time soon.
Despite the Brazilian not wanting to leave the club, Barcelona might force him out in the summer should they need to make a sale. Of all the positions on the pitch, Raphinha is perhaps the one player that the club can sell, and it won’t hurt them much.
Tottenham signing Raphinha is very intriguing but might not be the wisest decision. Stylistically very similar to Dejan Kulusevski, it might be difficult to fit the two wingers in the same XI and both players are likely to want to be starters.
On the other hand, there is no way for Raphinha to get into the Arsenal team ahead of Bukayo Saka. Between the two North London clubs, the Brazilian is likely to choose Spurs if he had to due to there being more chance of regular action at the New White Hart Lane.
Football is a funny game, and things change quickly. If Spurs want the 27-year-old, they should be attentive to his situation at Barcelona as there is a good chance he could become available in the summer.
