Newcastle United have reportedly made contact with Leeds United over potentially signing in-demand winger Raphinha from Elland Road this summer.
The 25-year-old, who is expected to depart Jesse Marsch’s side this summer, has been credited with interest from a number of clubs including Barcelona and Arsenal, but reports now claim that Eddie Howe’s side have been in contact with Leeds as they look to pursue an interest the former Stade Rennais playmaker.
However, the report suggests that while Newcastle are keen on monitoring the future of the nine-time Brazil international who has two years left on his contract at St James’ Park, they are not rushing to submit an official bid.
T he Northern Echo have reported that the Magpies are keen on the winger and have made contact with Leeds over a potential move for him. However, they are holding off making an official offer for now while they monitor what happens with his future.
Newcastle outlined four positions they wanted to bolster in the summer transfer window and have made strides towards ticking them off in the early weeks of the window, signing goalkeeper Nick Pope from Burnley and closing in on the acquisition of centre-back Sven Botman from French side Lille.
The other two reported positions were up front and out wide, with Stade de Reims striker Hugo Ekitike being heavily linked with a move to the north east. Lengthy talks between the two clubs have been ongoing but a deal is yet to be struck.
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That leaves a wide forward as the final position and the report claims that Newcastle have in recent days attempted to vamp up their pursuit of a new winger leading to discussions over a move for Raphinha.
French international winger Moussa Diaby had been linked with interest from Howe’s side this summer with the 22-year-old scoring 17 goals in all competitions last season to help Leverkusen qualify for the Champions League.
A move for Diaby however seems unlikely to take place, with the club’s sporting director Simon Rolfes recently outlining that the club do not need to cash in on the former Paris Saint-Germain winger and that they want to keep Diaby.
“We want to keep Moussa for as long as possible,” said Rolfes. “I know a lot of scouts have been sitting on our tribune during our matches because we have a lot of interesting, exciting young players with high potential.
“It is always the same, we do not have any offers for him, but we are not looking for that at the moment. We would like to keep him, and for him to play with us next season in the Champions League.”
The report claims that while Newcastle are interested in Raphinha this summer, they would not be willing to meet the £60million asking price that Leeds have set for the winger, whose 11 league goals last term were crucial in helping the Whites avoid relegation on the final day of last season.
