Jamie Carragher has joked on Monday Night Football on Sky Sports that Patrick Bamford may just have sold his Leeds United teammate Raphinha.
Bamford was effusive in his praise for Raphinha after the game, when he admitted that he was surprised Leeds had managed to get hold of him so cheaply (full comments here).
The Brazilian had just put in a wonderful display in Leeds’ 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
But Carragher felt that Bamford’s comments about Raphinha was so positive that they may just have attracted a few buyers.
“I think he’s just sold him,” Carragher laughed. “I mean he’s right we’ve all been there as players when someone comes in and you know you’ve got one.
“Some of his touches and play, I was really impressed when I watched him at Leicester.
“He has great quality on the ball, he assisted Bamford in the Leicester game and he looks like a real player. He’s a huge threat and I think when your teammate knows, he said as soon as he came in. As a dressing room you step back and say we’ve got one here’ and it sounds like that’s what the Leeds dressing room did.”
Raphinha has already been tentatively linked with a move away from Leeds recently, with Liverpool said to be interested in snapping him up.
It would not be a surprise at all if the 24-year-old was attracting attention, but Leeds will surely be determined to keep hold of him.
Raphinha really does look like the jewel in Leeds’ crown at the moment, and he is only getting stronger as he becomes more acclimatised with English football.
The good news for Leeds is that if they do opt to sell him, they stand to make major profit on the £17 million fee (Goal) they paid for him last summer.
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