Newcastle United want to sign Leeds United star Raphinha – but they know that his priority is to join Barcelona this summer.
Newcastle are ending the season comfortably clear of the relegation zone and may even break into the top half yet.
Eddie Howe has turned the club around with investment from PIF certainly helping in the January transfer window.
It looked like Newcastle and Leeds would both be in a relegation battle but the Magpies have pulled well clear now.
Leeds are still down there and are in real danger of going down as the Premier League reaches its climax on Sunday.
Relegation would see some Leeds players emerge as major transfer targets and Raphinha would be chief among them.
Newcastle United want to sign Leeds United star Raphinha
Raphinha, 25, has been a Premier League star ever since joining Leeds from Rennes in 2020.
The Brazilian international has now hit 16 goals and 12 assists in 64 Premier League games whilst serving as Leeds’ main source of creativity.
Given that Raphinha will have dreams of playing at the World Cup for Brazil later this year, he certainly won’t want to play in the Championship.
Premier League clubs will want to sign him and Newcastle appear to be one of them.
Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has told Caught Offside that Newcastle have explored the idea of signing Raphinha.
However, Newcastle allegedly know that Raphinha wants to join Barcelona instead so aren’t holding out much hope of a deal.
Chelsea have been keen too but agent Deco is in ‘very advanced talks’ with Barcelona for Raphinha to make the move.
Romano suggests that Raphinha has a €25million (£21million) release clause in his contract should Leeds go down.
That fits into Barcelona’s budget and the Camp Nou appears to be Raphinha’s dream destination.
UOL Esporte reported in March that Newcastle had failed with a bid for Raphinha with Leeds unwilling to sell to them.
Newcastle seem to have maintained their interest in the hope of pairing Raphinha with Allan Saint-Maximin in a terrifying wide duo.
It looks futile though with Raphinha focused on Barcelona should he look to leave Leeds this summer.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
