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Barcelona will be given a deadline to make advances on their pursuit of Leeds United star Raphinha following Chelsea’s accepted offer, according to reports.
It’s a transfer saga that has dragged on for several weeks now. Raphinha had interest from Barcelona, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea had the first successful move after having a £55 million plus add-ons bid accepted by Leeds, with Arsenal and Tottenham seemingly out of the race.
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But it has always been known that Barcelona is Raphinha’s preferred destination.
Due to their financial situation in Spain, affording players is an ongoing problem for the Catalan giants as they rely on economic levers to pull them through to afford signings.
Chelsea have all but agreed personal terms with the 25-year-old but Raphinha and his agent, Deco, are hoping Barcelona can match the Blues’ offer.
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As reported by Gianluigi Longari, Barcelona are now against the clock to match Chelsea’s transfer offer.
They have a final deadline, suggested to be this week, to present their final offer, with Chelsea’s still the best currently on the table.
Deco has reportedly assured Barcelona he will hold out for them this summer and won’t make any commitments with Chelsea.
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Thomas Tuchel’s side are remaining patient but won’t hold out forever for the Brazilian as they close in on a deal for Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling as an agreement nears.
Chelsea are hoping to confirm the 27-year-old’s arrival before they fly out to the United States for their pre-season tour.
Sterling is claimed to be excited about the proposed move as he returns to London.
Raphinha’s possible arrival could see Hakim Ziyech depart as negotiations with AC Milan continue.
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Ziyech is open to leaving Stamford Bridge for the Rossoneri after just two seasons in the English capital.
Chelsea are also willing to consider offers for attacking duo Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner,
Tuchel warned his forwards at the end of last season that new signings could be made to improve the attacking line.
“If we stick to the group then we will try to solve it with these players. Is it necessary to bring more offensive players around the box to create more distractions, to create more space for each other? We will ask that question. Can we do better in the structure? Can we push the players more? Did we rotate too much? Let’s see.
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“There are a lot of options. The numbers we produce from our offensive players don’t allow us to over-perform and we need over-performance if we want to be nearer to the top two teams.
“I am not pointing fingers, I am not blaming anybody, but we need over-performance from everybody. It’s not over-performance if we have only single figures in scoring and assisting.”
The Chelsea head coach has been promised up to six signings this summer by the new owners.
Matthew Debono