Former Arsenal man Serge Gnabry could be the key to Chelsea signing Leeds star Raphinha this summer amid reports Bayern Munich have hijacked and gazumped the Blues in the transfer race for the Brazilian star.
Raphinha, 25, has emerged as an Ousmane Dembele transfer alternative as Thomas Tuchel looks to shake up his attack this summer, amid reports some Blues stars in the frontline are not happy.
Leeds' current No.10 is a player who has been linked to making a west London move in the summer and this could become a real possibility depending on what happens at Leeds after they turned down approaches from West Ham at the end of January.
But a potential swoop will be dependent on a number of factors, including whether or not Marina Granovskaia can shift any of the attackers who are reportedly considering their futures in SW6, football.london understands.
"Raphinha is a really interesting one, though Chelsea have so many players in similar positions at the moment, they will likely need to move some players on first. Who knows though? Maybe Thiago Silva has spent the international break telling him how nice Stamford Bridge is," football.london's Scott Trotter said in his Deadline Day Q&A on Chelsea looking ahead to the summer.
The Brazilian, who has starred for the Selecao in the World Cup Qualifiers during this mini international break, has now received more attention transfer wise from another big European club, which could spell bad news for the side from SW6.
According to Sport BILD, Bayern Munich are keeping an eye on Raphinha even after Kingsley Coman's renewal, given that Serge Gnabry has not agreed a new deal yet.
The Brazilian, however, would be very expensive.
These reports have since been rebuffed by Sky Sport Germany's Florian Plettenberg but with contradicting reports on the matter, it's telling to see a former Arsenal man proving pivotal to the domino chain which could be detrimental to deciding Raphinha's eventual destination come the end of the 2021/22 season.
Gnabry, a player loaned and then sold by Arsene Wenger to West Brom and Werder Bremen respectively during his five year stint in north London, doesn't have a good reputation amongst the west London faithful.
Those two goals in the 2019/20 Champions League Round of 16 first leg win for the Bavarians at Stamford Bridge delighted Arsenal fans but their west London rivals will hope he can do them a favour now in this instance.
Bayern's No.7 has his contract expiring at the end of June in 2023, so it's no surprise to see the Bundesliga giants wanting a resolution now with a sale possible if the 26-year-old wasn't to agree to new terms on the contract on offer.
If Gnabry was to stay, then the chances of Raphinha moving to Stamford Bridge increases - an outcome which would delight a large number of the Chelsea cohort who are desperate to see Thiago Silva's good friend reunite with him on the club level.
