Raphinha is close to getting the move he wanted from Leeds to Barcelona after the Catalan club submitted a €58m (£49m) offer that could rise to €68m with add-ons. Leeds are poised to accept the bid and although there could be a delay before Barcelona can register him because of the state of their finances and La Liga’s version of financial fair play, a deal is not considered in doubt.
Chelsea had a £55m offer for the Brazil winger accepted last month and there was also interest from Arsenal but Raphinha had his heart set on Barcelona.
Leeds accepted some weeks ago that the 25-year-old would be leaving and prepared by signing Luis Sinisterra from Feyenoord last week. They have bought another player capable of playing on the wing, Brenden Aaronson, and an outlay of about £90m on six players should now be offset by the departures of Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, who has joined Manchester City for £42m plus add-ons.
Brentford have completed the signing of the England Under-21 forward Keane Lewis-Potter from Hull. Brentford’s head coach, Thomas Frank, described him as “one of the biggest young talents in the Championship” and said of last season:" “He scored 13 goals and contributed four assists in a team that were fighting a little bit towards the bottom of the league. Those are impressive numbers.”
The Republic of Ireland central defender Nathan Collins has joined Wolves from Burnley for £20m. The 21-year-old has signed a five-year deal with the option of another 12 months. “We’re getting someone who is physically very good, very tall, very athletic, and is very comfortable on the ball,” said the Wolves technical director, Scott Sellars.
Rabbi Matondo has moved from Schalke to Rangers for €3m on a deal to 2026. The Wales winger was at Manchester City before joining the German club.
