Chelsea gatecrash Arsenal’s bid for Raphinha by making £60million offer for Leeds winger
Chelsea gatecrash Arsenal’s bid to sign Raphinha and agree £60m deal for Leeds winger, with player’s agent and ex-Blues star Deco at the heart of talks as they usurp London rivals at the 11th hour
- Chelsea have made an offer of £60million for Leeds United winger Raphinha
- Arsenal held talks with Leeds after their initial offer for Raphinha was rejected
- The 25-year-old now seems set to move to Stamford Bridge this summer
- Chelsea also want to sign winger Raheem Sterling from Manchester City
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Chelsea have gatecrashed Arsenal‘s bid to sign Raphinha from Leeds United after agreeing a £60million deal.
Talks are at an advanced stage with former Chelsea midfielder Deco, Raphinha’s agent, at the heart of negotiations.
Arsenal held talks with Leeds on Tuesday after their initial offer was rejected but have not come close to Chelsea’s offer and the Brazilian is now poised to move to Stamford Bridge.
It is understood the Blues will pay an initial £55million rising to in excess of £60 including add-ons.
Personal terms still need to be thrashed out, but that is not expected to be an issue.
Chelsea look set to sign Raphinha after making an offer of £60million for the Leeds winger
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is eager to add to his team’s attacking options this summer
Chelsea plan to team Raphinha with Raheem Sterling as they continue parallel discussions with Manchester City over a £55m deal for the England international.
Romelu Lukaku is heading to Italy tonight ahead of his medical at Inter Milan on Wednesday morning while Juventus are interested in taking either Christian Pulisic or Timo Werner as part of a deal for Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt.
Chelsea have also asked about Nathan Ake and Oleksandr Zinchenko in conversations with Manchester City though any such deal will not be straight forward. Ake would be keen to make the move back to London but City’s price will reflect the fact they will need to fund a replacement.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal held talks with Leeds after their initial offer for Raphinha was rejected
Former Chelsea midfielder Deco is Raphinha’s agent and is heavily involved in negotiations
As well as Raphinha, Chelsea are also looking to sign Raheem Sterling from Manchester City
Raphinha had hoped to seal a move to Barcelona but with their financial constraints he has had to wait for offers from suitable Premier League clubs.
He was keen to join Arsenal after they made their opening bid but Chelsea offer immediate Champions League football while they have also importantly matched Leeds’ valuation.
Sportsmail understands the Gunners frantically spent Tuesday trying to revive their interest in Raphinha with Leeds.
But those talks failed with Chelsea now on the brink of landing the Brazil star.
Chelsea’s dramatic move for Raphinha clears the way for Tottenham to sign Richarlison from Everton
Raphinha scored 11 goals and registered three assists for Leeds last season as the club narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.
Chelsea had also shown an interest in Richarlison, but the signing of Raphinha clears the way for Tottenham to sign the Everton star.
Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is reportedly being given around £200million to bolster his squad under new owner Todd Boehly.
It was thought that Tuchel would prioritise the defence, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leaving the club on free transfers and the future of captain Cesar Azpilicueta still uncertain.
