Journalist Ben Jacobs claims he will be stunned if Chelsea sign Raphinha from Barcelona this summer.
We’ve heard speculation in the media recently that Chelsea could be interested in signing the 26-year-old winger.
According to Sport via Sport Witness this month, Chelsea are prepared to enter negotiations in a deal to try to bring Raphinha to Stamford Bridge.
However, Ben Jacobs insists that the £55million (BBC) attacker won’t be a priority for the Blues in the upcoming transfer window. In fact, he’ll be amazed if the Brazil international does move to West London.
Speaking on The Football Terrace’s YouTube channel, Jacobs said: “When Raphinha went to Barcelona, his dream club, there was appeal in the Chelsea offer. Chelsea’s priority is not going to be for a player like Raphinha unless they get rid of [Hakim] Ziyech and [Christian] Pulisic quickly, and maybe one more… Raphinha is not going to be the priority.
“Raphinha to Chelsea, Raphinha to Newcastle, maybe there’s admiration from the clubs, but I would be very surprised if he ends up at either.”
Chelsea were strongly linked with signing Raphinha from Leeds in last summer’s transfer window, but he opted for a glamorous move to the Camp Nou.
The Athletic claimed last year that Chelsea had even started preparing for Raphinha’s medical before he left for La Liga.
The left-footed winger has enjoyed a decent debut season with Barcelona without setting the world alight, scoring 10 goals and making 11 assists in 45 games across all competitions.
We certainly wouldn’t place Raphinha high up on our list of preferred targets targets. The main reason for this is we shouldn’t be prioritising wingers this summer.
It’s obvious that the Blues need to focus on strengthening the spine of the team. This means looking at the goalkeeper, central midfield and striker position.
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