ARSENAL have reportedly sent a ‘formal offer’ to Leeds for Raphinha.
But the bid will be rejected ‘out of hand’ as it falls way below their asking price for the Brazilian star.
Raphinha has long been linked with a move to Barcelona – and he would favour a move to the Nou Camp – but the Catalan giants are enduring financial problems and would likely need to sell first to afford him.
Leeds are willing to sell their star man as long as their valuation is met.
According to The Athletic, Chelsea are said to be his second choice as they can offer Champions League football and a better chance of winning trophies than the Gunners.
Arsenal were in contact with Leeds on Tuesday and submitted a bid late in the day.
The Gunners also announced the signing of Fabio Vieria on Tuesday, signing the midfielder for £34million from Porto.
Transfer chief Edu promised more signings as he unveiled the club’s newest star.
Asked if there would be more signings, he said: “Yes, I am quite excited.
“I think we still have some good conversations and positive conversations to be fair. I hope we can give to the fans some good news.”
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And speaking of Arsenal’s transfer strategy, Edu added: “We have to go into the market for exciting players with the right age, right attitude and right mentality.
“We want to see a club like Arsenal with a young squad, an exciting squad with a big, big future because as I said last summer, the idea is to have a young squad.
“We want to give them the opportunity to play together for two, three, four, five or six seasons.
“We still have a lot to do but we are really excited to start the season with the players we target and the players we want to sign.”
Edu revealed that the work to get Vieira through the door had been months in the making, despite several doubting Arsenal’s ability to attract players without the lure of Champions League football.
I think we still have some good conversations and positive conversations to be fair. I hope we can give to the fans some good news.
Edu
Edu said: “This summer is just the consequence of what we’ve been working on a lot, to try to find the best players, the best targets.
“We identify really what we need in the squad, so when we started this summer, we are prepared.
“Fabio is a good example because we moved quickly because we prepared to get Fabio a long time ago and then when we face it, we make things happen.”
Source: The Sun
