According to Juve Live, Leeds are seriously considering Juventus forward Douglas Costa as a replacement for Raphinha this summer.
The Italian news outlet state that the Leeds No.18 will be leaving for Liverpool once the season comes to an end.
As a result, Marcelo Bielsa is keen to sign someone of a similar profile to Raphinha, and has earmarked Costa as a potential replacement.
The 31-cap Brazil international is currently on loan at Bayern Munich, although Juve Live say it’s unlikely they’ll sign him permanently.
Due to Federico Chiesa’s presence in Turin, Juve Live say that Juventus would be happy to let Costa leave for the right price.
The Italian giants paid £35.2 million to sign him from Bayern Munich in 2018.
In our view, if Raphinha does leave, the 30-year-old would be an excellent replacement in terms of likeness to the £17 million signing from Rennes.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk forward loves cutting in from the right onto his deadly left foot, and also has pace to burn – just like Raphinha.
Costa was described as ‘ruthless’ by his former Shakhtar Donetsk boss Mircea Lucescu, who also compared him to Everton’s James Rodriguez.
The Bundesliga’s official website quote him as saying: “I see him in [Arjen] Robben’s position. He’s just 24 and can reach Robben’s level in the years to come.
“He’s a very strong player, naturally left-footed but can play on the right too. And he is ruthless and unstoppable when cutting in from the wings. He’s on the same level as James Rodriguez.”
It would be devastating to see the 24-year-old leave after just one season in Yorkshire.
However, the pain would be eased slightly if Leeds managed to get their hands on Costa, who has ten league titles to his name.
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