Revealed: Barcelona will consider offers for Chelsea & Newcastle target
Cameron Smith
- 13 Nov 2023 13:12 GMT
- 3 min read
Barcelona will consider offers for Brazilian winger Raphinha if he is unable to win his spot in the starting XI back.
Raphinha, 26, has started just three La Liga games this campaign, with Xavi favouring La Masia academy graduate Lamine Yamal on the right flank instead.
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The 16-year-old has been one of the highlights of Barcelona’s season so far and Raphinha has been unable to oust him from the starting XI, despite notching two goals and three assists in all competitions in 2023/24.
Blaugrana Sporting Director Deco reportedly remains confident that Raphinha will play a key role at Camp Nou during the second-half of the campaign, but Barca will consider offers next summer if that does not happen, according to SPORT.
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Raphinha to leave Barcelona?
Ousmane Dembele’s €50 million summer move to Paris Saint-Germain looked as though it would open up space for Raphinha to thrive at Barcelona, but the emergence of Yamal has ensured the former Leeds man could be heading for the exit door.
As per Football Espana, Newcastle United and clubs from Saudi Arabia were interested in signing Raphinha during the summer, while he reportedly remains on Chelsea’s shortlist if they are to sign a new winger.
The Blues had agreed a deal to sign Raphinha from Leeds in 2022, but the Brazilian rejected a move to Stamford Bridge in favour of joining Barcelona instead.
The west London club have signed Mykhailo Mudryk (€70m), Raheem Sterling (€56.2m), Cole Palmer (€47m) and Noni Madueke (€35m) and Angelo (€15m) to bolster their wide options since Raphinha turned them down, so a deal does seem unlikely. However, he is reportedly still on their shortlist.
Raphinha currently has just under four years left on his Barcelona contract after signing a five-year deal upon arriving from Leeds. As a result, his existing deal does not expire until 2027.
