Transfers

Phil Hay weighs in on reported Leeds United transfer speculation, Liverpool linked

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Raphinha has been shining at Leeds United this season, to the point where reports are beginning to emerge linking him with a move away.

The Whites have shown already that their recruitment policy under Victor Orta has been top notch, first to bring in Marcelo Bielsa, and then to find him players capable of getting Leeds to where they are now.

Amongst those signings this summer was arguably the pick of the bunch, 24-year-old winger Raphinha, who arrived from Rennes for £17million in the summer.

Since then, he’s shown exactly why Leeds pushed to sign him late in the window.

The Brazilian has been incredible this season, leading to a report from Football Insider claiming that Liverpool scouts have been ‘blown away’ and are preparing an offer of €40million.

The Reds are in a crisis of confidence at the moment, having stumbled dramatically in the title race, with their status as champions all-but conceded.

There’s no doubt that they’ll be looking to recruit in the summer to add some freshness and Raphinha will be attracting interest from elite clubs, but it’ll take a lot to prise him from Elland Road.

That’s the view of Phil Hay who wrote in a Q&A with The Athletic before the Crystal Palace clash on Monday night.

“Everyone will be watching Raphinha,” Hay stated.

“You can’t make this sort of impact and not have people on your case. But he’s on a longer contract and he would cost a lot of money.”

I cannot see Raphinha leaving this summer without an astronomical fee being offered, given Andrea Radrizzani’s plans to get this club higher up the table.

You can’t have ambition like his and then sell your star player at the first sign of interest.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Raphinha is destined for the top in his career if he keeps progressing, but he can get a lot closer staying at Elland Road, as Kalvin Phillips has.

He’s an incredible talent and deserves all the attention he’s getting, but it would be a miracle for Liverpool to convince him to join, and they’ll need to fork over an immense sum to do so.

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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.