Leeds United have confirmed the signing of Rennes winger Raphinha in a big-money deadline day move.
The Brazilian was heavily linked with Leeds over the weekend, and waved goodbye to Rennes in the 2-2 draw with Reims on Sunday by bagging a goal and an assist.
Late on deadline day, Leeds confirmed Raphinha has signed a four-year deal at Elland Road, with Ouest-France reporting that the deal will total €23million (£21million).
In that confirmation, Leeds also announced that Raphinha will be wearing the number 18 shirt at Elland Road, having worn 7 at Rennes, 21 at Sporting and 11 at Vitoria de Guimaraes.
The number 18 shirt has been a bit of a mixed bag for Leeds, with few success stories sine the turn of the millennium.
Danny Mills was a solid contributor in the early 2000’s, though youngsters Simon Walton and Robert Bayly couldn’t become stars in the number 18 shirt.
Fans may not have great memories from the likes of Kevin Nicholls, Andy Robinson, Sanchez Watt, Mikael Forssell, Michael Tonge or Mustapha Carayol as the number 18 shirt went through some tricky times at Elland Road.
The big success in recent times has been Pontus Jansson, who was a fan favourite at Leeds before leaving for Brentford in 2019, and the Whites didn’t fill the shirt after his exit – until now.
Leeds fans will now hope that Raphinha is more of a Jansson than a Nicholls, as he prepares to wear the number 18 in the Premier League.
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