This week has seen reports from TeamTalk that Barcelona are ready to sell winger Raphinha to fund other moves this summer.
10 goals and 13 assists from 37 appearances in all competitions last season is a decent return, and he’s got a fearsome work rate too. Saudi club, plus Newcastle and Tottenham are linked in the latest report. He’s well liked at the club, but their financial struggle is immense.
Chelsea will likely be interested too, although their priority will be on Crysencio Summerville and Michael Olise, according to Simon Phillips’ excusive report today. The pair are both long term targets for Chelsea, who are keen to sell some of their existing wingers to make room for those two – or potentially Raphinha.
The price tag could be an issue – Spanish sources are putting a silly €100m figure on the Brazilian’s head, but we’d be shocked if €70m or so didn’t get the deal done, given Barcelona’s situation.
A dead deal that could yet return to life
Raphinha was heavily linked with Chelsea in the summer that the new owners arrived, and it was only a late swoop from the Catalan club which took him to Barcelona rather than West London. If Phillips’ reports are true and Chelsea really do want to press on and buy two wingers, it makes sense that he would be a player under consideration.
Without doubt Summerville and Olise are higher priority targets, but there’s no guarantee either of them will actually come to Chelsea – there are a lot of hurdles to jump through. If moves for those two fall apart, Raphinha could easily come back into the frame, especially with Barcelona’s need to sell creating a willing partner in negotiations. That could well help bring the price down to something Chelsea can consider paying.
