In the lead up to the summer of 2020, Manchester United's pursuit of Jadon Sancho was the worst kept secret in football. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was said to be obsessed with the young attacker, seeing him as the player who could take the Red Devils to the next level. Journalists regularly wrote about the potential move and, on social media, it was seen as almost an inevitability that the former Manchester City man would wear the red shirt in the 2020/21 season.
However, Manchester United were slow in making their opening offer and when they did, they came in significantly below Borussia Dortmund's asking price. Aware of how a protracted transfer saga could affect their own squad building, Dortmund quickly put a deadline on any deal, assuring the Premier League side that if they did not meet the asking price before August 10, no deal would done for the England international.
In the end, the deadline passed and Sancho remained a Dortmund player. Manchester United returned with another bid after the deadline but no negotiations took place as the German side kept their word over their deadline.
Read more: Surprise Championship duo in race for Leeds United midfield target
Whilst Sancho eventually made the move to Old Trafford the following summer, Dortmund's strong negotiating position is something Leeds could learn from in what looks increasingly likely to become a transfer saga concerning Raphinha and Barcelona. The Catalan giants are said to have Leeds' star winger as one of their top transfer targets this summer, but they are yet to make any serious bid for the player.
A concrete bid doesn't seem likely to come any time soon either, since reports from Spain are state that Barcelona have major salary cap issues, leaving them unable to register any new players. That would mean that Barcelona will need to clear players off their wage bill, as well as meet the fee Leeds would be willing to accept - said to be between £60million - £70million - before any deal can be done.
However, Leeds cannot afford to wait until late in the window for this issue to be resolved. Whilst Raphinha is said to be happy at Leeds, both the club and the player know that he can play at Champions League level and a deal would be done, as long as fair value is delivered. Leeds need it to happen sooner rather than later though, if it is to happen.
The Whites only secured their Premier League status for another season on the last day of the season and there is much work to do on the squad as it is. As it stands now, Victor Orta is a little hamstrung in terms of acting on transfer plans. Whilst Brenden Aaronson has already been brought in to strengthen attacking midfield and right-back, Rasmus Kristensen will soon follow, Leeds are left in a state of limbo over what the shape of their attacking options will be next season.
If Raphinha is to go, the club may want to go big on a replacement, or they could try and replace him with several players around the £20million bracket. All the while they are waiting for something to happen with Barcelona, the options they might want to pursue could agree deals elsewhere.
As such, perhaps Leeds could give Barcelona the same sort of deadline that Manchester United were given. It would then require the strength of conviction to keep the player, who could yet make more of a fuss if it emerged his dream move was being denied.
Read more: Why Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips is such a wanted man this summer
Read more: Leeds United officials spotted in New York ahead of potential Valentin Castellanos transfer
There are two other potential strategies which Leeds could follow. Firstly, they could try to force a bidding war by actively offering Raphinha to top clubs. Liverpool were heavily interested in him last summer, whilst Chelsea and Manchester United have both been mentioned as admirers and West Ham were said to have for him in January. Secondly, they could follow Aston Villa's Jack Grealish replacement plan from last season, as Villa began to make the signings to replace their star attacker well in advance of a final agreement coming for his transfer to Manchester City.
Whichever strategy Leeds choose to follow, Leeds need to be prepared. Raphinha was their top goalscorer in 21/22 and has been their primary source of chance creation and ball progression since he joined the club in 20/21. Replacing him will be a huge undertaking. They cannot leave themselves scrambling to do so late in the window.
We want to hear your thoughts, so LOG IN and leave your comment below
