“Will surely be one of Barcelona’s reinforcements” – Journalist drops transfer claim about 25-year-old forward

Argentine journalist Claudio Mauri claimed that Leeds United’s Raphinha will almost certainly move to Barcelona in the summer.

Raphinha was signed by Leeds from the French club Rennes in October 2020 for a fee reportedly (as per goal.com) in the region of £17 million. The Brazilian has been an outstanding addition to Marcelo Bielsa’s side and has 13 goal involvements in 31 appearances this season. The Brazilian is still only 24 and is believed to have a big future ahead of him.

As per the Mirror, Barcelona are expected to let go of Adama Traore, who was only signed on a loan deal. Additionally, Ousmane Dembele has still not signed an extension, although the Frenchman has been in stellar form for Xavi’s team in recent weeks.

Raphinha will be a terrific addition to a young Barca side that is only going to get better in the coming time. The Brazilian has former Blaugrana player Deco as his agent, which is believed to be a huge advantage for the Spanish club with respect to potential negotiations.

Mauri tweeted:

"Raphinha, the Brazilian who gave #Leeds such good results, will surely be one of the reinforcements for #Barcelona. His representative is Deco and that will greatly favor negotiations."

Xavi looking to add attacking depth to his Barcelona squad ahead of next season?

Barcelona are expected to have moved past their financial woes to a major extent by the end of the summer. While multiple big names have been linked, the club will still not want to commit to deals that will worsen their delicate situation. Barca were initially linked to Erling Haaland but other clubs such as Manchester City are reported to have moved ahead with respect to a potential deal.

Xavi will be well aware that he already has a core group of players who are only going to improve in the coming time. Frenkie De Jong seems to be growing and is considered important, while the addition of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the return of Memphis Depay from injury have been huge boosts as well.

Ronald Araujo is set to stay while Andreas Christensen has reportedly been signed as well, as per Gerard Romero (via Sports Illustrated). The club has a plethora of young upcoming players with the likes of Pedri, Ansu Fati and Gavi leading the way.

There is still enough experience with the presence of Sergio Busquets, who has also been given a new lease of life under Xavi. Dani Alves and Gerard Pique might not be regular starters, but they are bound to be very important in the dressing room.

While keeping up with Real Madrid and their spending might be a huge challenge, there is plenty of room for optimism for Barcelona under Xavi next season.