Transfers

Journalist: Transfer sequence leads to Leeds United making definitive Rodrigo De Paul decision

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Leeds United look set to complete the signing of Brazillian winger Raphinha from Stade Rennais on deadline day, whilst telling Udinese their stance on Rodrigo De Paul too.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men have hit the ground running in the Premier League, taking seven points from their mixed start. Two wins against struggling Fulham and Sheffield United sides came in between brilliant showings against Liverpool and Manchester City, gaining a point off Pep Guardiola’s side at the weekend.

New signing Rodrigo Moreno got off the mark for the Whites as he pounced on an uncharacteristic error from Ederson, but in truth, he deserved a goal from his own making anyway as he starred for Leeds in attacking midfield.

Leeds’ new signings are beginning to show their worth with some very accomplished performances and it looks like Bielsa is going to get more before the window shuts.

With two centre-back deals wrapped up as well as Rodrigo’s, the midfield is now the key focus of deadline day for Leeds.

Helder Costa, Jack Harrison, Gjanni Alioski, and Ian Poveda serve as the club’s only wingers at the moment and while Alioski has been a great servant, his performance from the left-wing on Saturday left a lot to be admired.

Leeds need strength in depth and they look to be adding real quality with reports confirming that Stade Rennais winger Raphinha is set to join the club for a deal that could total £23million with add-ons.

The deal also has given us a definitive answer on the lingering talk of Rodrigo De Paul wanting a move to Elland Road this summer.

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has reported that Leeds’ deal to sign Raphinha has come in tandem with a message to Udinese that they were signing the Brazillian and that a deal for De Paul was off the cards.

The fee being rumoured for De Paul would make that a deal that just isn’t viable for Leeds on top of Raphinha’s arrival, with the Italian club asking for around €40million.

This news doesn’t come as much surprise and once the De Paul deal struggled to ever get going, most fans conceded that this deal was unlikely.

At that asking price, it’s simply out of our budget and we can’t stretch to sign players for fees that big when we’re only just back in the Premier League, because that lavish spending is why we were gone for so long.

At £17million, Raphinha could be a very shrewd deal as a 23-year-old who’s already shown a lot of potential in his career.

It’ll be hard for him to break into the starting 11 straight away with the form of jack Harrison Helder Costa and Ian Poveda but having two weeks to work with Bielsa will stand him in good stead for the first game after the international break.

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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.