Raphinha To Chelsea: Transfer Fee, Contract Length And Thomas Tuchel's Stance Revealed

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Leeds United winger Raphinha and all the details of the proposed transfer have now been revealed.

The Brazilian is said to be considering personal terms after Leeds United accepted a £55 million offer from Chelsea. 

There has been competition for his signature, with it previously reported that the Brazilian is set to reject both Arsenal and Tottenham in favour of a switch to Stamford Bridge, while Barcelona were also interested in the 25-year-old.

The details of the transfer have now been revealed, with Thomas Tuchel getting the first signing of the summer through the door.  

Tuchel was promised to be backed in the transfer window and it appears co-owner Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are making good on their word by bringing in Raphinha along with a host of other targets.

There are set to be ready to make as many as six incomings this summer, with Chelsea ready to submit an offer to Manchester City for Raheem Sterling in the coming days.

Raphinha is likely to arrive first, however, as he is currently negotiating terms with Tuchel’s side.

As reported by FootballTransfers, the 25-year-old is ‘mulling’ over a contract offer worth £6 million per season.

This would come to £115,000-a-week as he is set to move from Leeds after securing their Premier League status and avoiding relegation last season.

The contract offer is an initial five-year deal, with an option of an extra year.

Furthermore, Raphinha had two release clauses in his contract at Leeds but neither of these were met by Chelsea.

Raphinha in action for Brazil. (Alamy)

The first was a relegation release clause, which would have allowed Raphinha to leave for as little as €25 million if Jesse Marsch’s side finished in the bottom three.

However, the American led them to safety with the help of Raphinha, meaning this clause was not made active.

A second release clause existed for a fee of €75 million, which would have come into play this summer as they secured their Premier League status.

However, this was removed due to a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, which was agreed back in March.

Chelsea have since seen a transfer bid of £55 million accepted, beating Arsenal and Tottenham, who were also negotiating for the winger. 

Thomas Tuchel with Raphinha post-match during the 2021/22 season. (Twitter)

All that is required now is for the player to agree terms with Chelsea, as it looks increasingly likely that the Brazilian will be the first signing of the Boehly-Clearlake Capital era.

Chelsea head coach Tuchel was said to be personally ‘driving interest’ ahead of the move, and was pictured with Raphinha after Chelsea beat Leeds last season at Stamford Bridge.

The German seems to have gotten his man this summer as he looks to challenge at the top of the Premier League ahead of the new season.

Tuchel will then turn his attention to bringing in other players, such as Sterling, as well as continuing to target central defenders.

Both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen departed this summer, with Chelsea reportedly keen to replace them with world-class additions following their bid for Raphinha.