Leeds United Director of Football, Victor Orta, has raved about reported Arsenal target Raphinha on COPE’s Great Match show, saying that he does more defensive work than his Brazil international teammate and Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar.
Raphinha has been making the headlines in recent days, with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea and Xavi’s Barcelona all keen on signing the Brazil international winger from Leeds in the summer transfer window.
The Times reported last week that Arsenal made a bid of £35 million which the West Yorkshire club turned down.
The Daily Mail have reported that Chelsea and Barcelona have bid for the former Rennes star.
Leeds Director of Football, Orta,has said that Raphinha is “special”, adding where he is better than former Barcelona forward Neymar.
Arsenal target Raphinha compared to Neymar
Orta said about Raphinha on COPE’s Great Match show, as translated by The Yorkshire Evening Post/Joe Brennan: “He’s good. He has good legs, physically very good, works a lot off the ball.
“He is an exciting player, and then going forward, he can take on players, get away from players, he’s difficult to play against.
“He’s one of the guys who runs the most in the league. He’s a special player, he’s got similarities to Neymar.
“He plays well on the wing but runs back much more than Neymar, he defends much more than Neymar.”
Could a transfer happen?
Raphinha’s reported preference is to join Barcelona, but if the former La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners are not able to agree a fee with Leeds United, then a window could open for Arsenal.
Now, of course, the Gunners will have to increase their bid by at least £20 million to get Leeds onto the negotiating table.
Would Arsenal be prepared to do that?
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